The Portable Handwashing Cart
Portable hand washers for health teams saving valuable time
Designed in direct response to a survey of care professionals in Lagos, Nigeria, the portable hand washing cart solves one of the most urgent challenges facing health teams. Rather than spending time they cannot spare walking to and from sinks in fixed locations, individuals wheel the cart along ward rounds for instant sanitisation access. The sink is modular, made from easily obtained parts and materials and designed explicitly for local manufacture. It provides contactless hand washing and the 25 litre water kegs underneath the sink equal those used by rural water carriers, providing a familiarity to the design that makes it comfortable to see and use. Requiring only a two hour charge to run for up to 48 hours, the system works via battery-powered micro submersible pump. With two prototypes already in action on hospital wards in the city, the team plans to produce six more in the early months of 2021.