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Air Conditioning for Care Home Medication Storage Rooms

October 11th, 2016 by Airedale Cooling

Whilst air conditioning may be considered a luxury in a variety of properties, it is a necessity inside medication storerooms. When it comes to the safe storage of medicines in care homes throughout the UK, official legislation and regulations must be enforced and monitored.

If the temperature inside a medicine storeroom is incorrect, the performance of the product can be compromised which, in turn, could put patients at risk. As such, it’s crucial that the room is set to the appropriate temperature, which may require the installation of an air conditioning system.

Air Conditioning for Care Home Medication

Controlling temperature

Different medical supplies will need to be stored in different conditions to ensure they keep their potency. As such, you will need to follow the manufacturer’s recommended storage advice to know exactly what temperature the medication room will need to be set at.

If the manufacturer’s label on the products states that they are ‘room temperature medicines’, then they will need to stored below 25ºC. In this case, an air conditioning system will need to be installed to prevent the temperatures from falling out of the recommended range.

Storerooms with refrigerators and freezers can experience higher temperatures as these appliances tend to generate a great deal of heat. As such, air conditioning is essential in rooms with a number of refrigerators/freezers to maintain the correct storage conditions.

Controlling humidity

If the label states that the product needs to be protected from moisture, then it must be stored in a room with no more than 60% relative humidity. To achieve the correct levels of humidity, you should carefully consider:

  1. Ventilation
  • Air circulation is essential in storerooms, so it’s important to keep windows or air vents in the room open
  1. Air conditioners
  • Will need to run 24/7 to maintain the correct conditions
  1. Sunlight
  • Blinds or curtains will block out excessive natural light
  • Products must not be stored in direct sunlight
  • Products should be kept inside cartons

Monitor temperature

Monitoring the temperature within the storeroom is imperative to ensure the conditions are right for your products. As such, you must:

  • Keep thermometers in various areas of the room
  • Keep the storeroom well ventilated
  • Prevent direct sunlight from filtering into the storeroom

According to NHS guidance,
“Monitoring of fridge temperatures must take place every day by reading and recording the temperatures displayed by the integral maximum and minimum fridge thermometer. The maximum, minimum and current temperature should be recorded every day by the care home worker and must be recorded on a temperature monitoring log form. Once this is done, the care home worker should reset the thermometer.”

This will ensure that the correct temperature levels are maintained to avoid reducing the effectiveness of the medicine stored inside the fridges.

Airedale Cooling

If you are searching for a high efficiency, reliable air conditioning system for the medication storeroom in your care home, look no further than Airedale Cooling to help. With a wealth of industry experience, we can help you comply with regulatory requirements to ensure all medicine products are kept in the recommended storage conditions. To find out more, please contact our expert team today.

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