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Rick Fentiman (real name Warrick Fentiman), founder and director of Specialist Hygiene Solutions Ltd, is a pseudologist.

What is a pseudologist? It is just one of the many euphemisms we use to describe a liar. It implies, very appropriately in this case, a systematic liar, one who builds a whole framework of misinformation, in order to create a convincing whole.

Extreme? Too strong? Libellous? Consider the 5 independently verifiable facts below and judge for yourself.

Independently verifiable fact #1

Rick Fentiman claims to be a “Cambridge graduate microbiologist” see article “A new weapon in the war on germs” from the Worcester News.

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Reporter James Connell confirms that the article was based on a telephone interview with Rick.

The fact is…

Rick has no such qualifications – see below.

It is an interesting reflection on Mr Fentiman’s mental pathology, that in claiming an utterly false qualification, he is not content to have any old microbiology degree, he must gild his plastic rose by going for a Cambridge degree.

Really? Should we reserve a pedestal for Dr Fentiman, alongside Darwin, and Crick and Watson?

Independently verifiable fact #2

Rick Fentiman claims to have a 24-hour rapid Response Service operating in the USA and Canada. See newspaper article from the Lynn News published in July 2016:

The fact is…

There is no such service in either the USA or Canada, and never has been. When I called the “USA Infection Emergency Helpline” number below, I eventually got through to a very English, rather weary sounding young lady who admitted that she was in Suffolk. No, she didn’t know if they offered decontamination services in the USA and Canada. She asked her supervisor. The supervisor didn’t know – could they have someone call me back in an hour?

Searching the address of their USA office on Google Street View takes us to the detached premises of Belair Instrument Company, whose charming receptionist Amanda assures me that Specialist Hygiene Solutions is not on their premises, never has been, and she has never heard of them. Their phone number is +1 973-912-5228.

Independently verifiable fact #3

Rick Fentiman claims that the Deprox system has ISO 13485 certification. This is the exceptionally rigorous ISO standard for medical device manufacture. This claim is made in the Sheffield Teaching Hospitals response to tender (2014) page 30.

The fact is…

Neither Deprox or Hygiene Solutions have ISO13485 certification, and never have had. How to verify? Just ask Hygiene Solutions for a copy of their ISO13485 certificate. This will have the name of the issuing organisation, (registrar) who will be able to confirm immediately if the certificate is genuine or not. Of course, if Hygiene Solutions cannot promptly send a copy, that speaks for its self…

Independently verifiable fact #4

Rick Fentiman claims repeatedly, on the basis of the TNO Report, that the Deprox process gives a log6 reduction in bacteria and spores. See Sheffield Teaching Hospitals response to tender (2014) pages 6, 7 and 8.

The fact is…

For the tests analysed in the TNO report, the delta RH setting of the machine was 40% (TNO report p.16) The delta RH sets the level of concentration of disinfectant in the air of the room being treated.

The machine being tested by TNO was not a Deprox, it was an IC-4, which is a similar but more powerful machine made by a Dutch company. However, the Deprox is not even capable of being set to delta RH 40% – the highest setting on the Deprox is 30%. In practice, because of insurmountable problems with residual gas at the end of the process, all Deprox units are set to between delta RH 5% and delta RH 15% – consequently the disinfectant concentration is much lower than it should be and the efficacy of the process is between log0.2 and log2. How to verify? Just press and hold the “secret” buttons on the Deprox front panel, and the delta RH setting will be displayed – see How to test your Deprox.

Independently verifiable fact #5

Rick Fentiman claims integrity and honesty as the first principles of his business. See “Royal Marsden Proposal 2015” page 24.

The fact is…

Nothing could be further from the truth. He has repeatedly proved himself to be a liar. The examples above are just a small selection of the many misleading, dishonest or fraudulent claims made by the Fentimans and their business, Specialist Hygiene Solutions Ltd. A further 39 examples can be found in A Tangled web…

So would you buy a used car from this man? I hope not!

Unfortunately, the NHS spends over £3,000,000 per year on safety critical medical equipment from this company.

Still not sure if Deprox is a scam or not? CHECK THE FACTS for yourself.

The Deprox settings can be simply tested as follows:

There are a number of concealed buttons on the LCD panel of the Deprox unit. These are visible as slight blisters in the plastic film to the right of the “START CYCLE” button.
Pressing and holding buttons F3 and F4 simultaneously for 10 seconds will bring up the Delta RH setting on the LCD display, e.g “delta RH 10%”
Pressing the “START CYCLE” button will take the machine out of “Menu” mode and back to standard operation mode.

Changing the RH setting changes the efficacy of the process. The efficacy is proportional to the H2O2 concentration, which is in turn proportional to the RH setting. The test data that Hygiene Solutions include in their tender submissions (see TNO Report ) are for machines running at delta RH40. The log 6 efficacy claims for Deprox are based only on this data.

However, at delta RH40, the level of H2O2 and other chemicals in the air at the end of the process is perhaps 20 or 30 times the legal limit – even after the 45 minute “deactivation cycle”. Also, except in the very driest climates, heavy condensation is formed. Consequently all Deprox units have been turned down to RH settings of between 5% and 15%. (For example, the 2 machines at Westmead Hospital in Sydney are set at 10%. The units at the Luton and Dunstable Hospital are set at 5% etc…) The efficacy is consequently greatly reduced, to between log 0.2 and log 2.

It should be pointed out that the Deprox machine has NO MEANS WHATEVER of monitoring the deactivation process. The green light is simply on a 45 minute timer, and will illuminate at this time regardless of the level of gas in the room.

Hydrogen peroxide gas detectors are expensive to buy, but can be rented at very reasonable rates from Drager UK. The best detector for this application is the Drager X-am 5100. The contact number for gas detection enquiries is 01670 352891.

Note: Do NOT rely on on gas detectors supplied from Hygiene Solutions – these are calibrated to show only a fraction of the real gas level! This can very easily be demonstrated by using a HS supplied unit and a rented Drager unit side by side.

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We can see from the graph above the huge reduction in both H2O2 concentration and duration between Deprox settings of RH40% and RH5%. For technical reasons explained in “Deprox and the Emperor’s New Clothes” at RH5% the Deprox only emits a single pulse of vapour, rather than emitting at 5 to 10 minute intervals as it is designed to do. The efficacy is approximately proportional to the area under the graph, so it is obvious that the reduction in efficacy is not 8 fold as we might calculate, but more like 100 fold.

Hygiene Solutions keep a couple of “demo” machines at their depots both in the UK and Australia that are set to a delta RH of 30%. These are used to “demonstrate” to new or skeptical customers that the process is efficacious. As the H2O2 has little odour, the residual air quality issue is not apparent unless an H2O2 meter is used.

For full details on the delta RH setting deception, and its consequences, see “Deprox and the Emperor’s New Clothes”

Exposing corruption in the PBCC

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