Hospitals

Healthcare runs two very different ice requirements off the same site. Patient and ward ice has to be soft enough to chew safely, while pathology, specimen transport and cold therapy need volume and a machine that simply doesn’t stop. Both need something straightforward to clean and sanitise.

What suits healthcare

• Nugget – soft, chewable and easy to swallow, which is why it’s the standard for patient ice.
• Flake – for specimen and sample transport, and for cold therapy where it needs to mould around a limb.
• Allow around 3.2 to 4.5 kg per occupied bed, with cafeteria demand on top at roughly 0.45 kg per person.

Hygiene matters more here than anywhere. Ice is classed as a food, so machines need regular sanitising and a filter schedule matched to the water, not the calendar.