How Sliding Doors Advance Modern Healthcare

Specialist Door Solutions (SDS), a partner of Future Health Spaces and creator of innovative healthcare doorsets, has launched a new aluminium sliding door. Their latest contribution to the advancement of healthcare environments was custom-designed to embody the principles of efficiency, hygiene, and accessibility that are crucial for modern hospital facilities.

By integrating state-of-the-art sliding door technology into their product range, SDS is helping to shape the future of healthcare infrastructure, ensuring that every space is optimised for patient care and operational excellence.

Learn more below.

Introducing The Newest Doorset from Specialist Door Solutions;

In healthcare, every detail counts. The integration of sliding doors in hospital design and construction can have a direct impact on the improvement of patient care and operational efficiency. Healthcare settings function best when every inch of space is optimised for functionality, mobility, and cleanliness. Using sliding doors in combination with hinged doorsets makes this possible. But until now, there wasn’t a healthcare doorset supplier that produced both solutions.

Clariglide is a state-of-the-art aluminium sliding door system designed specifically for healthcare environments. Engineered with both patient care and facility efficiency in mind, the sliding doorset offers a range of features to enhance visibility, hygiene, space usage, and accessibility.

Clariglide: The Aluminium Sliding Door; Clariglide, the newest and most advanced sliding doorset on the market, was designed by our specialists to meet the unique requirements of healthcare applications.

It offers a smooth, easy-to-operate sliding door system that saves space, enhances accessibility, and meets the stringent hygiene standards of hospitals. The low-friction and soft-close runner mechanism reduces noise and strain for hospital staff, allowing for quick and efficient patient monitoring. Hygienic design features prevent bacterial growth, essential for infection control in ICU and isolation wards, and all-glass vision panelling enhances natural light, creating a pleasant and healing environment for patients.

The Development of Clariglide’s Innovative Technology;

Clariglide's development was driven by direct feedback from healthcare architects and contractors. Their insights have shaped a product that our customers can trust to meet the pressing needs of hospital environments year after year. The collaboration with expert architects ensured that Clariglide is not just a door, but a solution tailored to the demanding requirements of healthcare settings.

Clariglide was also conceived to address a recurring request from our clients for sliding door solutions in conjunction with our hinged timber door packages. Seeing a market opportunity, SDS developed Clariglide to become the all-in-one solution for timber-based and aluminium sliding doors, making us the first and only company to provide this dual offering for healthcare settings.

During the design phase, there were several key considerations we wanted the new door to address, including:

● Ensuring the doors could be easily operated by patients, visitors, and staff.

● Creating a product that is easy to clean and inhibits bacterial growth.

● Incorporating full-glass panels with optional integral blinds for patient supervision and privacy.

The result is Clariglide, which does all of this - and much more.

Top Features of the Clariglide Sliding Door;

1. Enhanced Visibility;

Clariglide's all-glass panels ensure full patient-in-view, creating lighter and brighter rooms that facilitate supervision without the need to enter the room. This reduces infection risk, patient disturbance and supports rest and recovery. For privacy and light control, optional integral blinds with tilt functionality are available.

2. Hygienic by Design;

Minimal air disturbance is crucial in reducing the spread of infections in healthcare settings. ClariGlide’s sliding mechanism excels in this aspect, helping to maintain a more controlled environment. Additionally, its robust, smooth, non-porous materials inhibit bacterial growth and are easy to clean, making ClariGlide ideal for hygienic environments where infection control is critical, such as ICU, isolation, and cardiac wards.

3. Maximised Space Efficiency;

Clariglide’s sliding mechanism frees up valuable floor space, facilitating better room planning and patient care, and creating a significant space-saving improvement over traditional hinged doorsets, allowing for better utilisation of healthcare settings.

4. Easy Access;

Clariglide facilitates easier movement for staff and patients, especially those with mobility challenges. The sliding door creates a wider opening, meeting DDA requirements and ensuring accessibility for all users. Its smooth action simplifies the movement of patients and beds without compromising corridor or ward space.

5. Heavy-Duty Performance;

Designed for frequent internal use, the sturdy aluminium profile features low-friction running gear for smooth operation. It is provided as a complete assembly, including the door frame, sidescreen glazing, and sliding gear. The high-quality sliding door set is available in a durable Polyester Powder Coat or Satin Anodised Aluminium finish, ensuring long-lasting performance.

6. Highly Configurable & Simple to Specify;

Clariglide is available in a variety of sizes, finishes, and formats, including single sliding, bi-parting, and telescopic door types. Its design facilitates easy specification with full BIM model and NBS support, providing flexibility for different healthcare settings.

7. Fully Compliant;

The hygienic doorset undergoes rigorous testing to ensure it meets all relevant safety standards. It complies with hospital hygiene and safety regulations, guaranteeing a trustworthy, reliable and safe solution for healthcare environments. The product is crafted from top-spec materials, ensuring it withstands the demanding conditions of hospitals and other health-related buildings.

Benefits of Clariglide for Healthcare Construction;

Clariglide is a reliable and easy-to-install solution that meets all safety standards. It is cost-effective, durable, and enhances patient care environments, as well as offering longevity, ease of specification and seamless integration with existing designs. From our perspective, it puts us on the map as a single source for multiple solutions, so our customers can trust us to provide the right door for the right application. As hospitals move towards individual patient rooms instead of wards with multiple patients, vision-panelled doors will become ever more crucial to patient care.

Revolutionising the Future of Healthcare with Our New Sliding Door Solution;

"We are thrilled to introduce Clariglide to the healthcare industry in the UK," said Laurie Ware, Head of Technical. "Our team has dedicated efforts to create a product that not only meets the exacting standards of the healthcare industry but also provides a reliable and practical solution for NHS Trusts, Healthcare Architects, and Contractors."

"Clariglide offers a reliable and practical solution for healthcare facilities, contributing to the enhancement of healthcare environments across the country," added Laurie.

Clariglide represents a significant advancement in healthcare infrastructure, embodying the future of patient care and facility efficiency.

Designed by Specialist Door Solutions (SDS) in collaboration with healthcare experts, Clariglide addresses critical needs such as hygiene, accessibility, and space optimisation. Its innovative sliding door technology enhances visibility, reduces infection risks, and ensures easy access for patients and staff.

As hospitals evolve towards more individualised patient care and stringent hygiene standards, Clariglide offers a practical and forward-thinking solution. This pioneering doorset not only meets the current demands of healthcare environments but also paves the way for future advancements in patient care and operational efficiency, making it a vital component in the modernisation of healthcare facilities.