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.
Our team at Specialist Door Solutions (SDS) are incredibly pleased to announce the launch of Clariglide, our state-of-the-art aluminium sliding door system designed specifically for healthcare environments. Engineered with both patient care and facility efficiency in mind, Clariglide offers a range of features that enhance visibility, hygiene, space usage, and accessibility.
Clariglide, the newest and most advanced sliding doorset on the market, is designed by our specialists for the unique requirements of healthcare applications and can be completely tailored with various configurations, colours, and glazing options.
Clariglide offers a smooth, easy-to-operate sliding door system that saves space, enhances accessibility, and meets the stringent hygiene standards of hospitals. Its low-friction running mechanism with integrated soft closers reduces noise and strain for hospital staff, allowing for quick and efficient patient monitoring. The hygienic design prevents bacterial growth, essential for infection control in ICU and isolation wards. All-glass vision panelling enhances natural light, creating a pleasant and healing environment for patients.
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, making us the first company to provide this dual product offering, and allowing us to become the only trusted all-in-one solution for timber-based doors and aluminium sliding doors in 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.
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, low-friction action simplifies the movement of patients and beds without compromising corridor or ward space.
Its belt-driven synchronising technology requires less energy to operate, by enabling the simultaneous opening and closing of bi-parting and telescopic doors with just one leaf.
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.
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.
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 and sloping pelmet inhibit bacterial growth by ensuring the doorset is easy to clean, making Clariglide ideal for hygienic environments where infection control is critical, such as ICU, isolation, and cardiac wards.
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.
Telescopic sliding doors are particularly useful in environments where optimising space is a significant issue or requirement. The sliding system allows the doors to stack perfectly, providing maximum clear openings and space even when the doors are fully open.
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.
All Clariglide frames incorporate a unique adjustable depth frame profile with integrated architraves, providing improved aesthetics and a finishing point for coved flooring.
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.
Clariglide is a reliable and easy-to-install solution that meets all relevant 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. It is a high-performing solution for healthcare that’s easy for architects to specify and for contractors to buy and install.
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.
As the latest innovation in our product lineup, Clariglide meets the unique and ever-evolving demands of the healthcare industry, providing enhanced functionality, hygiene, and space-saving efficiency.
"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 can be tailored to meet the specific needs of any healthcare facility. For more information or to place an order, visit the Clariglide product page or contact the sales team directly for a consultation and custom quote.