Member Article

Lighting innovators Circada launch first pilot at The Walton Centre NHS Trust to improve staff and patient wellbeing

Lighting firm Circada kickstarts its campaign to change people’s relationships with their natural body clock with the launch of the inaugural pilot at The Walton Centre NHS Foundation Trust in Liverpool – the first trust in the UK to take part.

Following the installation of the Circadian lighting system into part of the intensive therapy unit (ITU) at the hospital, a 3-month pilot will be undertaken. It is hoped that the lighting will benefit patients and staff, and potentially improve patient flow by reducing the time spent in ITU.

The pilot is part of the Trust’s innovation agenda, and if the feasibility trial is successful, the lighting could be rolled out more widely across the ITU and other patient areas.

Circada’s lighting technology works by changing the colour of the lighting throughout the day to match the daily and seasonal pattern of the sun, with superior and tailored light matched to our biological needs throughout.

Commenting on the pilot, Circada founder Sam Lewtas said: “We hope our lighting restores some balance to patients and staff in this stressful environment. I’m excited to show the potential of our concept here, and ultimately more widely the ability to improve health and wellbeing.”

On the introduction of the lighting pilot, Oonagh Doherty, ITU Matron at The Walton Centre, said minimising delirium in patients is an important factor in their recovery: “Delirium can be a big issue for the patients, especially head injured patients. Ensuring they have adequate sleep and rest is key and resetting their body clock is important for this to happen – which this innovative lighting system may help to achieve! If this pilot is successful, it may reduce the length of patient stays on ITU, therefore improving their experience and rehabilitation journey. I’m also keen to see how it helps our staff’s health and wellbeing too.”

Misalignment of the body clock, for which daily light exposure is largely responsible, has been shown to have a negative impact across many areas of human health. By retuning the light with the sun’s rhythm, we aim to demonstrate here, and in other pilots across offices, residential and hospitality industries, how the Circada solution can bring positive health and wellbeing benefits to people across society.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Tom Harrop .