Dr. Allen Hanouka
Co-Founder and Joint CEO of GAMA Healthcare, the infection prevention specialist
“Rediroom” is the world’s first pop-up isolation room
We sat with Dr. Allen Hanouka, co-founder and joint CEO of GAMA Healthcare, to discuss their priorities and solutions around patient solutions within healthcare. Before co-founding GAMA with Dr Guy Braverman, Allen was an Ophthalmologist at the Royal Free Hospital, London. Guy and Allen left clinical practice to start GAMA in 2004, which, 17 years later, has become an internationally recognised infection prevention specialist.
Could you tell us about your company’s products or solutions that enhance patient safety?
Including our head office in Hemel Hempstead, UK, we now have offices in six cities across three continents. Since we developed the world’s first universal disinfectant wipe under the Clinell brand, we have become the largest wet wipes supplier to hospitals in the UK and Australia, and export our products to over 70 countries worldwide.
During the early days of our practice, we were conscious of the lack of hygiene practised at key touchpoints within the hospital. This led us to invent our first breakthrough product in 2006, Clinell Universal Wipes, which is still a best seller and is used by over 91% of NHS hospitals in the UK.
Our products focus on the different touchpoints throughout a patient’s journey when inside a hospital, from the surfaces that the patient interacts with– whether it is the hospital infrastructure or instruments used by GPs and surgeons. Surface disinfection is now a cornerstone of infection prevention policies.
Patients are the most common source of microorganisms in a hospital setting. Infected and colonised patients (and hospital staff) shed bacteria, viruses, and spores into the hospital environment1. Studies have shown that within 48hrs of admission, 39% of patients have at least one hospital-associated pathogen on their hands2. Our antimicrobial hand wipes for cleaning and disinfecting hands have a patented formula that kills 99.999% of microorganisms without needing soap and water.
Our recent focus has been on reducing the spread of infections via air transmission. That’s why we created Rediroom, the world’s first pop-up isolation room, designed to combat the spread of healthcare-associated infections (HCAIs) within healthcare environments.
Rediroom is a temporary, single-patient, isolation room designed to isolate infectious patients under contact of droplet precautions. It’s a cost and time-effective method of isolating infectious patients. We’ve also invested in producing an instant air purification device, Rediair, that makes poorly ventilated areas safer.
Pathogens, particulates and odours linger in poorly ventilated spaces. Breathing, talking, and coughing can spread pathogens such as influenza or coronavirus via the generation of aerosols or droplets, which can remain in the air for over an hour3. That’s why we created Rediair to trap the airborne contaminants right away.
Nearly three years on from the start of the pandemic, how has patient safety changed?
The COVID-19 pandemic has reinforced the importance of IPC. Specifically, the fundamentals such as hand hygiene, environmental decontamination, use of PPE and patient isolation have been reinforced to reduce the risk of transmission of various infectious diseases. There’s a wealth of evidence supporting how IPC fundamentals can reduce the risk of transmission of infections.
Recently, the spotlight has been shone on ventilation and how good ventilation can play a role in reducing the risk of airborne transmission of infections. Poor ventilation has been highlighted as a risk factor for the transmission of various respiratory pathogens (such as SARS-CoV-2 and influenza) as infectious aerosols (which are expelled when people breathe or cough) can build up in poorly ventilated areas4.
Improving ventilation has been a significant challenge for healthcare providers, workplaces, and homes across the globe. Still, it can be achieved through natural means (opening of windows) and mechanical means (use of air filtration units for example).
Could you shed light on any future plans?
We have a large R&D centre called the Fellows Research Centre (FRC), based in Halifax, West Yorkshire, that is permanently engaged in discovering and developing new innovative products and improving existing ones. This enables us to find practical solutions and remain at the forefront of infection prevention innovation. Our upcoming products include Redihood, which protects the staff and aims to reduce the risk of spreading infections via the medical practitioner. We plan to increase our market share across all our brands while accelerating the growth of the categories we operate in.
Anything else you would like to add?
The Middle East & Africa are one of GAMA’s central growth regions. We’ve increased our investments by adding resources to this underserved market, and we’ll be providing training and clinical education for our customers in the area. GAMA will deliver best practices gained from years of experience in Infection Prevention and share clinical studies to gain valuable insights for our customers to learn and improve their practices.
GAMA Healthcare is an infection prevention expert working to reduce the risk of infection to help save and improve lives. For more information about our business and products, please visit
1. Lai J, Coleman KK, Sheldon Tai SH, et al. Evolution of SARS-CoV-2 Shedding in Exhaled Breath Aerosols. medRxiv. Published online January 1, 2022:2022.07.27.22278121. doi:10.1101/2022.07.27.22278121
2. Loveday HP, Tingle A, Wilson JA. Using a multimodal strategy to improve patient hand hygiene. American Journal of Infection Control. 2021;49(6):740-745. doi:10.1016/j.ajic.2020.12.011
3. Wilson NM, Norton A, Young FP, Collins DW. Airborne transmission of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 to healthcare workers: a narrative review. Anaesthesia. 2020;75(8):1086-1095. doi:10.1111/anae.15093
4. Pirkle S, Bozarth S, Robinson N, et al. Evaluating and contextualizing the efficacy of portable HEPA filtration units in small exam rooms. American Journal of Infection Control. 2021;49(12):1506-1510. doi:10.1016/j.ajic.2021.08.003
