WASHROOM
Raising The Bar
Chrissie Rowlinson, Product Marketing Manager at Cannon Hygiene UK, explains how care home washrooms need to meet basic hygiene compliance and why they can affect reputations.
Hygiene plays a very important role in the care home sector. Good hygiene standards don’t only support first impressions, they directly impact residents’ health and wellbeing.
Cleanliness is often central to customers’ decision making. The sector is relatively unique as decision makers are not always the end users and care homes need to appeal to both the resident and their families.
No matter how positive a care home’s atmosphere, aesthetics and noise-levels are, a bad smell or unhygienic surfaces can immediately change perceptions.
Tackling Bad Odours In the washroom, this is something that’s crucial – care homes won’t feel the benefit of expensive design or refurbishment of their washrooms if it’s unhygienic. This is why removing bad smells can be a cost effective tool in improving business operations.
Stakeholders are right to consider malodours as off-putting, since the buildup of bacteria is the root cause of bad smells and could cause the environment to be unsafe for all using the facilities. In light of this care homes should take steps to
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regularly clean and maintain their washrooms in a bid to remove any germs as quickly as possible.
However, this is just one way to tackle bad smells and unhygienic environments - care homes can always go the extra mile if they want to. Since residents and their visitors may be in the same areas for periods of time they’ll begin to experience ‘olfactory fatigue’ – the phenomenon where smells begin to disappear the longer they are exposed to them. To combat this, fragrance units that disperse scents periodically throughout the day help ensure smells stay pleasant.
This helps to give residents, and just as importantly their friends and families, the reassurance that care is being provided in a clean and safe environment.
Infection Reduction Residents’ age and ill health mean that they are vulnerable to infections caused by cross contamination. During periods of care, hygiene needs to be a priority in reducing unforeseen additional illness. This naturally means that everyone working in care homes has a duty to maintain good hygiene and care homes should provide the tools to do so.
Since care homes are shared spaces, infections can spread very quickly. This is why hand hygiene is a core element of the Department of Health’s guidance on preventing the spread of infections, as it can reduce the potential for cross-contamination.
Beyond the washroom, care homes should be using hand sanitiser dispensers for staff and visitors to use on entry and exit, to stop germs from the outside spreading to residents’ accommodation. In addition, they should ensure that good hand hygiene is easy for customers, meaning washrooms always need to be fit for purpose with effective hand washing and drying facilities in place.
A Parting Thought As hygiene is a factor in both meeting regulatory requirements and creating a positive atmosphere, it’s something that care home providers need to get right. Reviewing hygiene practice in line with government legislation should be the first step. Beyond this, businesses should investigate where they can go that extra mile to create better environments for customers to improve business operations.
www.cannonhygiene.com
www.tomorrowscare.co.uk
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