Karolinska University Hospital breaks new ground in protecting staff from the coronavirus

During the first outbreak of the corona pandemic, a close collaboration was initiated with Karolinska University Hospital in Solna and Huddinge. QleanAir Scandinavia has since then delivered over ninety air cleaners to protect the intensive care unit staff from the corona virus, to complement protective gear and ventilation.

Karolinska University Hospital is one of Europe’s finest health facilities, and together with Karolinska Institute, they lead the development of medical breakthroughs. During the outbreak of the corona pandemic, the pressure was high on the intensive care units (ICU) in Karolinska in the Stockholm Region. They arranged temporary ICU wards in large rooms that accommodate many covid-19 patients. The staff was primarily protected from the virus with protective gear and by the ventilation, creating a negative air pressure in the room. However, around patients treated with high-flow oxygen, the virus becomes airborne, endangering the staff.

Cleaning the air in the ICU

Therefore, to reduce virus levels and create a safer environment for the staff, a quotation request for air cleaners was sent out. Karolinska needed air cleaners with certified HEPA 14 filter, high capacity of air flow and silent operation. QleanAir Scandinavia’s offer was chosen because our products met the high requirements and had short delivery times. Over a couple of weeks, a total of 63 units of FS 70 with HEPA 14 filters were delivered and placed in four different ICU wards in Karolinska Hospital in Solna and Huddinge. While installing the FS 70 units, the air was measured to see to what extent they could reduce the particle levels. The result shows a dramatic reduction.

At QleanAir we are proud to be part of providing more safe and secure working environments for customers in segments that have been the most severely impacted by the pandemic, such as the intensive care units in hospitals,

Christina Lindstedt, CEO of QleanAir Scandinavia

Next step – emergency wards and waiting rooms

After the first wave was over, QleanAir installed air cleaners in waiting rooms and emergency wards for children. The results from the before/after-study once again proved a considerable reduction of particles. The staff was very happy with the performance and could feel the change in the air quality – fresher, cleaner, more comfortable air.

An important tool to protect staff and patients

During the second wave of the corona pandemic, the ICU once again reached a high occupancy level of with covid-19-patients. Another 29 air cleaners have been ordered of both FS 70 HEPA and newly released Q FS 30 HEPA. Through the corona pandemic, Karolinska University Hospital has gained a new awareness of the importance of air quality. They will continue use free standing air cleaners as a complement to protective gear and ventilation, to protect employees from virus, bacteria, and other hazardous particles in the air.

FS 30 HEPA and FS 70 HEPA has in third party tests reached a filtration performance of 99.9993 and 99.9996 % respectively. As a result, only cleaned air is recirculated, which places these products in a division of their own on the market.