New device developed at Alder Hey Hospital allows staff to open doors touch-free

  • Granada

A new and simple invention is allowing staff at Alder Hey Children's Hospital to open and close doors without having to touch them.

'The Distancer' has been designed by the hospital in conjunction with 3D LifePrints and is a small handheld device with a flat end and a hooked end that can be used to open and close doors.

The device also has a slot for staff members' ID cards allowing them to move through the hospital touch-free.

Alder Hey have said that this will reduce the risk of staff coming into contact with COVID-19, which can survive on hard surfaces and door handles for up to 72 hours.

The new solution was inspired by Alder Hey’s Clinical Director of Innovation Iain Hennessey, who wanted to come up with a way to reduce infection risk during the current COVID-19 outbreak.

He said: "Transmission of the COVID19 virus from surfaces like door handles represents a real risk to frontline workers and patients.

"The Distancer will help reduce risk of contact transmission and give greater peace of mind to healthcare professionals as they move around hospitals."

Credit: Alder Hey Hospital

All staff at Alder Hey will be given one of the new devices and they have said that there have been orders placed from NHS trusts in the UK and as far away as New York.

Paul Fotheringham, Founder and CTO of 3D LifePrints who designed and created the device said: "Innovation can be simple yet effective. A hospital-based medical professional in their daily movements can pass through over 100 doors.

"Each door or ID access point can be a potential source of viral or bacterial contamination."

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