A hospital is full of various rooms and areas that have very specific and different requirements for what is needed within that area to keep patients and staff safe. Some rooms require positive air pressure, while others require negative air pressure, or have specific needs for the water, humidity levels, or temperature of the space. This is where independent verification services are needed within healthcare, to make absolutely sure that every piece of the environmental system is operating correctly.
Often, staff will assume that the independent verification inspector is there to criticize or spy on them, and that any problems will end with pointed fingers and blame. However, the inspector should be seen as a useful presence in the building, because they are there to make sure the entire system is working correctly and that everyone’s job will be easier and safer.
Many of the items inspected will wear out or change due to normal operating wear and tear, or incorrect installation in the very beginning, and not because of a single person’s fault. The independent verification inspector is there to identify these issues and make sure they are fixed, not to get someone in trouble.
It’s important that the verification inspector is working independently, because that means they have no stake in whether the systems pass or fail, they are there with the single purpose of finding issues. If they were not independent, certain problems might be overlooked if they reflected poorly on the manufacturer or installation company. This is why an independent verification inspector should be brought in whenever anything with the environmental system changes or is newly installed or modified within the hospital.
Certain rooms within the hospital even require documentation or certification at specific, scheduled intervals to make sure that the entire system is working together properly and keeping everyone safe. These rooms include operating rooms, isolation rooms, sterile and decontamination suites, and various other rooms that require a critical air pressure. Many of our clients opt for a semi-annual inspection and verification so that all of the systems can meet its requirements.
Contact us now for more information about how our independent verification inspections can keep your facility safe and operating correctly.
