9.3.1 Scrub Sinks in the Scrub Room of the Clean Surgical Department

Scrub sinks should be equipped with non-hand-operated faucets, provided at no more than 2 faucets per operating room.

【Reference】The scrub sink in the clean surgical department should be narrow and deep, with the bottom of the sink slightly smaller than the width of the sink opening. When scrubbing, one extends the feet forward so that the body can get close to the sink, which facilitates scrubbing the arms; a deeper sink can prevent dirty water from splashing out. To prevent bacterial infection caused by hands touching the faucets, the scrub sink should be equipped with non-hand-operated switches, and next to the scrub sink there should be a soap dispenser with a contact switch and an electric hand dryer. At present, gooseneck faucets are widely used for scrub sinks in domestic hospitals; the more commonly used control switches include the elbow-operated type (integrated with the faucet) and the foot-operated type, as well as knee-operated, photoelectric, and infrared sensor switches. No matter which type of switch is selected, its quality must be reliable; otherwise, the progress of the operation will be affected.

Scrub sinks should be made of white ceramic tiles or stainless steel. The types of white ceramic tile scrub sinks can be found in the national standard atlas "Installation of Hospital Sanitary Equipment" (92S340), in which Figures 4, 5, 6, and 7 are installation drawings of scrub sinks. These are standard drawings of masonry-type scrub sinks designed in light of the characteristics of operations in China. In recent years, new

Figure 9.1 Floor-standing stainless steel scrub sink (XSC-2) Clean operating departments that have been built all use stainless steel scrub sinks. Figures 9.1 and 9.2 show two different types of stainless steel sinks, XSC-2 and XSC-2A, produced by a medical purification engineering Co., Ltd. XSC-2 is an integral floor-standing type, used when there is no centralized hot water supply. However, the outer sidewall of the sink near the user should be inclined a little less to prevent water splashing. The electric water heater in the base box of the scrub sink can directly heat cold water to the required temperature for use by medical staff, except that the water supply temperature needs to be adjusted slowly. To keep the temperature constant, an automatic temperature-regulating valve can be used. The self-operated balanced-pressure thermostatic mixing valve (Type ZP-25-2) is not affected by the feed water temperature, pressure, or the amount of water used, and its outlet water temperature is stable; when the cold or hot water path is cut off, the other path is automatically shut off, preventing scalding and cold shock accidents. Thermostatic mixing valves feature small size, good performance, many varieties, energy saving, safety, and constant water temperature, with pipe diameters of DH15～DH80.

Figure 9.2 Wall-mounted stainless steel scrub sink (XSC-2A)

Figure 9.3 shows the Type 523 thermostatic mixing valve, where Figure (a) shows its appearance and Figure (b) shows its schematic diagram. The temperature-sensing chamber at the mixed water outlet senses the water temperature and expands or contracts itself to adjust the inflow ratio of cold and hot water, thereby automatically keeping the water temperature constant and saving water and energy. The thermostatic mixing valve can also rapidly shut off the hot water within a few seconds after the cold water supply is interrupted.

XSC-2A is a wall-mounted stainless steel scrub sink. Its hot water comes from a centralized piping system; the hot water temperature must be above 60℃ and is used after being mixed with cold water.

9.3.2 Faucets

Generally, there are no more than 2 faucets in one operating room. The scrub sink should be adjacent to the operating room, and it is best for the scrub sink to be within 15m of the operating room, because after scrubbing one must walk into the clean operating room within 10s; otherwise, walking too long in the Class 100 000 corridor will increase the bacterial infection rate. It is best to locate the scrub sink in a separate scrub room, because the scrub sink is a place that easily pollutes the environment: the drain outlet and floor drain easily accumulate dirt and require frequent cleaning, and the air around the scrub sink is humid, which affects indoor cleanliness. Therefore, it is best to place the scrub sink in a separate room, which is conducive to management. Therefore, scrub sinks should be arranged with overall consideration and rationally configured.