Flooring brings new life to maternity unit

The 24/7 unit contains three post natal wards, where mothers are helped to establish feeding and advised on how to care for their babies, before going home. This non-stop environment makes refurbishment of the unit a challenge, as downtime is hugely disruptive to the smooth running of the service. 

The hospital’s building officer Mike Poustie, said: "When we decided to replace the floor in Quantock ward’s corridor, we needed to find something that could be laid without any closure, obstructions, dust or potentially harmful chemicals or solvents.

"The floor was originally fitted with lino, which was laid with two margins of terrazzo, which was wet-laid in the original 1930s construction of the unit.

"Then some twenty years ago the lino was replaced with a slip-resistant flooring which proved difficult to clean and there were staining issues with the old solvent based adhesive leaching into the vinyl. Subsequently, a wood-effect heterogeneous flooring was laid but the staining problem reoccurred.

"So the new floor needed to tick a lot of boxes for us; safe for staff, patients and their relatives, easy to clean, resistant to staining, quick to lay, long-lasting, great looking, and an installation that was completely safe for the vulnerable people on the ward."

Altro XpressLay is claimed to be the world's first adhesive-free, truly sustainable safety floor. It is installed using a tape system instead of adhesive, so can be installed without a surface DPM. It can be easily removed post-installation, re-used elsewhere and then at the end of its life be recycled.

The range features 42 colours and Altro Easyclean Maxis PUR Technology ensures the product stays looking good long-term. Altro XpressLay also offers sustained slip resistance for the lifetime of the product.

Mike Poustie added: "We are very pleased with both the installation of the flooring and the end result. It was a simple process that had a minimal impact on the running of the ward. I would recommend it to anyone who needs a quick, hassle-free solution, without compromising on quality or aesthetics."