Case Studies » Dudley Group NHS Foundation Trust
The Challenge
A visit was made to the Dudley Group NHS Foundation Trust sites, at Russells Hall, Corbetts and Guest, in 2020 to consider compliance with the Dangerous Substances and Explosive Atmospheres Regulations 2002 (DSEAR), incorporating Amendment 1: June 2015. The Trust serves a population of around 450,000 people from three hospital sites at Russells Hall Hospital, Corbett Outpatient Centre in Stourbridge, and Guest Outpatient Centre in Dudley. The Trust provides the full range of secondary care services and some specialist services for the wider populations of the Black Country and West Midlands region.
As part of this the processing operations on site utilise flammable gases, liquids and sprays and generate quantities of combustible fine dust.
The Solution provided
A key focus of the survey was to review the provision and suitability of ventilation and extraction across the various site operations and to identify where improvements were required. Further to this areas such as bulk storage, dispensing of materials and potential ignition sources such as by static ignition were explored and discussed in the report.
Certain areas of the site storage and process activities required Hazardous Area Classification and this was identified.
The report provided a clear to follow action plan with suggested timescales for completion that the Dudley Group NHS Foundation Trust could work to. Importantly the report covers all key parts of the DSEAR hierarchy of controls: reduction of quantities, minimisation of release, minimisation of hazardous areas through ventilation, minimisation of ignition sources, etc.
