Durham DTC

Lighting designed with the patient experience in mind

Zumtobel Lighting and Thorn Lighting have supplied the lighting for the new Durham DTC (Durham Treatment Centre), a purpose built facility that has been designed with patient experience in mind. A huge variety of fittings have been supplied to illuminate all areas of the 2,500sqm facility situated just outside of the city centre where thousands of patients across Durham and the surrounding areas will be able to access their specialist care locally at a new state-of-the-art diagnostic and treatment centre. Durham DTC will increase the capacity of renal dialysis services currently offered in Durham by the City Hospitals Sunderland NHS Foundation Trust, as well as expand Urology, Ophthalmology and Nephrology Services and ENT outpatient clinics. It was extremely important throughout the development that the centre would provide purpose built, high-quality and cutting-edge facilities which meet the demands seen in modern healthcare, yet retain the flexibility for future growth.

Thorn’s Beta 2, an alternative recessed panel which bridges the economic gap between LED technology and conventional light sources, was chosen for Treatment and Clean Utility areas. Its prismatic diffuser is perfect for working areas as well as circulation areas and the luminaire adheres to the UGR requirements in EN 12464.

Thorn has provided Omega luminaires for the treatment areas where a surface option was required also utilizing the low profile surface kit accessory. With its slim 12mm profile, the fitting incorporates a UV-stabilised opal acrylic diffuser to retain its clean look. The IP44 rated Omega provides excellent glare control (available in UGR<19 and 22) and is easily retrofitted, whilst maintenance is significantly reduced by the 50,000 hours’ life of the 4000K LED lamps supplied with the fitting.

Zumtobel’s CLEAN clean-room recessed linear luminaires have been designed to meet the exacting requirements necessary in these applications. Zumtobel has used the experience of clean-room designers and combined it with the very latest lighting technology to produce a three-level luminaire concept for clean-rooms, which is geared towards both the dictates of that environment as well as particular visual tasks. A cover with a high-quality anodised aluminium frame and toughened safety glass insert is distinctive of the CLEAN luminaire.

For sustainability, Thorn’s Chalice was an obvious choice in waiting areas, reducing energy usage by up to 60%. With a lifetime of up to 50,000 hours, this fitting significantly reduces maintenance demands and costs.

For open plan office’s, Thorn’s IQ Wave, with its simple and flowing lines, has created a modern but simplistic aesthetic with a Unified Glare Rating of <19 – compliant to EN12464 which is perfect for the task. IQ Wave has an innovative MV tech optic that offers excellent uniformity, a colour temperature of 4000K and glare control plus direct/indirect light for illuminance on faces and walls to encourage a relaxed and comfortable environment. For ease of installation its new red flag design allows easy access to pull the set up from below the ceiling without the need to remove the optics from the product, allowing for a more secure fixing to the ceiling.

The new lighting from Zumtobel Group has played a key role in achieving the desired lighting effect, providing the desired quality of light, high energy savings and low maintenance costs. This element was extremely important to the Trust and to its maintenance provider, City Hospitals Independent Commercial Enterprises (CHoICE). Their Director Wayne Carr added “Thorn are a locally based company and with a high quality reputation, so this was key to selection of the product by our engineering team and the long-term support benefit having this local presence will bring to all parties”

Find out more about healthcare lighting from Thorn