HATS originally ordered 100 AirBubbl air filtration devices from AirLabs to protect its drivers and passengers from London air pollution. The installation has now been ramped up to provide an additional layer of protection for its workers from exposure to coronavirus, as its vehicles are repurposed to support London hospitals, including Chelsea and Westminster NHS Foundation Trust and St George’s Hospital, which are putting protective measures in place to manage the crisis.
Ashley Stowell, advanced paramedic practitioner and HATS clinical director said: “As the pandemic hit, it quickly became apparent that we could repurpose our vehicles to help transport patients infected by COVID-19.
“In order to do this we decided to ramp up installation, along with the rapid deployment of extra vehicles for a number of additional services, including ITU transfers of COVID-19 patients and maternity services to a number of hospital trusts across London, in a bid to help reduce the cross infection on this mountain we are all having to climb.”
Coronaviruses are spread via respiratory droplets produced by infected persons when they cough, sneeze, talk or breathe. While larger droplets quickly fall out of the air, smaller droplets persist as aerosols. These aerosols provide an environment in which viruses can remain alive for hours allowing them to spread through the environment, reports supplier AirLabs. Droplets and bioaerosols also lead to the contamination of surfaces, another route of transmission.
By using air filtration in an enclosed space and reducing the airborne virus load, there is a potential to reduce transmission of SARS-CoV-2 where people are in close proximity, such as ambulances, patient transport and other service vehicles, the supplier says.
It has produced a white paper about the issue, available for download via the link below.