The effectiveness of the Biocote coating, applied to all Priorclave Autoclaves, has been shown by recent comparative tests carried out by fellow Biocote partner Mountway on their Neptune bath lifts. The following is from a recent press release issued by Biocote summarising the findings.

Harboured Bacteria Reduced By 65% On Neptune

Recent laboratory tests have proved that the presence of BioCote in the Neptune bath lift by Mountway is definitely helping in the fight against harmful bacteria such as MRSA, E.coli and C Diff.

A recent swabbing exercise by Stafford Stores is a prime example of Mountway and BioCote’s continual commitment to increasing bath lift hygiene and involved the testing of three Neptunes against an unprotected Neptune and a competitor’s model.

Results were expected to be significant but the statistics received regarding the amount by which micro-organisms were reduced exceeded all expectations.

Gina Pritchett from Stafford Stores explained, “The bacteria levels were tested before and after cleaning which involved several processes. These included swabbing with a neutralising buffer solution, a wash cycle, storage and re-swabbing to obtain accurate data.”

On completion of these stages, swabs were sent to an independent UKAS accredited laboratory to obtain a TVC (Total Viable Count) result. “The final results revealed that a BioCote treated chair will harbour 65% less bacteria than a competitor’s chair when dirty. After cleaning and storage, the untreated chair still had 23% of the bacteria found on the dirty product. Compare this to the BioCote treated chair, which contained less than ten bacteria once cleaned, a reduction of nearly 100%.”

“The amount by which levels of bacteria were reduced on the BioCote protected Neptune was very impressive. Performance analysis will continue however these figures are already brilliant news for Mountway and its customers”, enthused Graeme Notley, Mountway’s Managing Director.

Since 2005, when Mountway signed an exclusive license with BioCote, the Neptune bath lift has proved that incorporating this specific silver ion technology can reduce bacteria by up to 99.9%.

As tests continue in 2006 between Mountway and other BioCote partners it is expected that an even higher level of consistent protection will be achieved which is great news for everyone connected with the healthcare industry.