Designed for patient safety

"On a regular day we have 400 patients visit our emergency departments and an average of 1,750 inpatients – 190 surgeries are performed, 25 children are born and 900 X-ray diagnoses are performed. We simply cannot compromise the safety of our patients.”

Patrik Lundström
Communications manager at Skåne University Hospital

Background

With history dating back to 1896 and now spread over 60 buildings, Skåne University Hospital in Malmö, Sweden, specialises in emergency medicine and works tirelessly to protect its patients’ lives.

Challenge

The hospital infrastructure plays its vital role in the background. If a single component does not work as it should, the entire operation will fail to function properly.

“Power interruptions in hospitals have a huge impact on patient and staff safety. In addition to life-saving critical care equipment in our operating theatres, we need to be sure the buildings’ security infrastructure functions 24/7. That includes emergency lighting, fire and burglar alarms, our IT infrastructure – includingelectronic patient records and appointment systems – and more, making it a critical part of the hospital’s everyday life.The role of a high-quality, uninterrupted power supply in the hospital infrastructure cannot be overemphasised,” Lundström says.

Solution

Eaton’s power quality solutions contribute to maintaining the hospital’s vital functions. Since 2004, Eaton has delivered its UPS systems to different sections of the hospital complex, including the women’s clinic and the hospital’s many operating theatres and intensive care units. There a selection of Eaton’s 130, 120 and 60 kVA UPS systems – along with smaller Eaton UPSs of 1000– 6000 VA – that protect emergency lighting, alarm systems and computer equipment.

Fruitful cooperation continued with the recent delivery of a parallel UPS system comprising of Eaton 9390 160 kVA units for the hospital’s new Emergency and Infectious Diseases building, where Eaton UPSs will secure the undisturbed functioning of the security infrastructure and computer systems.

Results

“We appreciate the high quality of Eaton’s products, which incorporate the latest technologies. It is definitely a big plus for us that Eaton manufactures its own products,” says Mikael Lajer, production manager, electricity, at Skåne University Hospital.

“Also, having the support of a local service organisation with 24-hour service is a great advantage. We need to be able to rely on our partners and Eaton has certainly earned our confidence over the years.”