“Uncovered: NHS Cleaning” This analytical piece from Andrew Large, the
then Cleaning and Support Services Chief Executive, served as a stern reminder of the issues surrounding funding in the public sector, and how medical staff are forced to clean outside of their general duties. Lack of training, lack of thorough cleaning procedures, as well as constant cutbacks to the sector, are all highlighted in this stark warning to what the future may hold if these issues aren’t addressed.
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“Easy as 1, 2, 3” Lotus Professional may now have decided to
combine with Tork, but that doesn’t mean we forgot this great story from February. If you teach kids a lesson while they’re young, it sticks with them for life, and the same applies to hand hygiene as it does the ABC’s. If a child is taught to wash their hands as part of their daily routine by parents, and it is reinforced by teachers in schools, it can help to reduce illness in an environment rife with bacteria.
Click here “What is the future of
sustainable cleaning?” This is such a hot topic at the moment it would be diffi cult to avoid sustainability! But this stood out for us as a brilliant debate, showcasing some of the ideas from the top professionals in the industry. Go back a couple of months and take a look at what Trudi Osbourne, Marketing Manager of Airdri Ltd. and Phillip Maddox, the Managing Director of Leafi eld Environmental, not to mention a whole host of others in the cleaning industry, had to say on the matter!
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“Snow excuses” It’s very hard to imagine the prospect of snow
with all this uncharacteristically-sunny weather we’ve been experiencing here in the UK, but like it or not, winter will come eventually. This piece of advice comes from Nilfi sk, asking the all important question – are you prepared? After all, snow is but another waste product that needs clearing out of our path.
Winter is upon us and with it the memories of the last two winters of ice, snow and freezing temperatures. Are we prepared? Have we got the right equipment in place for that crucial moment?
Snow, for all of its beauty, is another waste product that often needs clearing away and it’s also often forgotten until the first flakes start to stick and all hell breaks loose.
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Multi-functional machines provide the client and contractor with flexibility, functionality and cost savings. These machines have the great benefit of combined function; sold with a myriad of different attachments the units are
capable of year round tasks such as green areas, winter maintenance and road sweeping.
Contractors are often tasked with clearing all external areas and walkways including the car parks. Of vital importance is the ability for the machine to fit between pedestrian bollards and quickly multi task between sweeping, snow plough and grit spreading. Health and Safety requirements dictate a fast response; providers cannot afford time taken up with changing brushes and attachments.
The Nilfisk Park Ranger 2150 has the benefit of being completely flexible and performing a variety of tasks. It can even handle two
The future of our cleaning industry | TOMORROW’S CLEANING | 43 VACUUMS & SWEEPERS
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Snow excuses
As winter is creeping closer, with the threats of snow days, and icy hazards waiting in the subzero wings, Nilfisk ask the all-important question – are you prepared?
operations at the same time, snow clearing and salt spreading simultaneously.
A single lock and release lever separates the attachments with no tools required, attachments are changed in less than four minutes. Hydraulics, water, power and vacuum hoses connect automatically with all hoses and couplings hidden and therefore well protected.
The Nilfisk Park Ranger 2150 is an articulated unit just one metre wide and now sold with a new 28 HP Perkins Engine.
The vehicle has excellent weight distribution too, due to a low point of gravity and a large axle base. This makes it very stable in all terrains with the articulated design keeping the unit close to edges and turning sharp corners. The unit is compact and easily transported on a truck or trailer.
The Nilfisk Park Ranger 2150 is currently available at a special ‘Winter Package Price’. The machine can be purchased with the salt and sand spreader plus one of three snow attachments; the Dozer Blade, Snow Sweeper or Snow V-blade.
Please contact our head office for more information or to arrange a consultation, site survey or demonstration.
“Take a seat...” This piece looked at the all too serious truth
about waiting rooms. Whether hospital or dental, the infamous waiting room can be a breeding ground for bacteria. Seemingly innocent children’s toys harbour infections, while upholstery could easily pass on germs. But according to Lotus Professional, all of this must be handled with a spoonful of common sense.
Take a seat...
In 2012, infection control within GP surgeries and dental practice waiting rooms came under scrutiny, after representatives from the Quality Care Commission advised practice managers to remove toys, magazines and soft furnishings from waiting rooms to reduce bacteria spread.
Initially, surgeries that were advised to remove such items complied, under the advice that these items could harbour dangerous bacteria and enable them to spread from person to person.
However, following subsequent news reports, the Quality Care Commission later confirmed that the advice given was not official and such items had no reason to be banned, causing confusion around the steps practice managers should take to keep patients safe in their waiting rooms.
Addressing these issues, Frank Duffy, Sales Manager at SCA for the Lotus Professional® brand, dispels some of the common myths and offers some suggestions on how practice managers can ensure good hygiene standards within waiting rooms and communal areas.
Hygiene and common sense In visits made by Infection Control representatives to a dental practice in Dorset in 2012, the most obscure recommendation made to the practice manager was that they should not use adhesive putty to attach posters to the wall, as it posed a cross contamination risk.
The Quality Care Commission was quick to respond to this claim, reassuring GP and dental practices that this was not the case and that adhesive putty was not a source of cross
room. The Reflex® Portable from Lotus Professional® is a multi-use and cost effective system, which encases the paper towel roll to protect it from dust and germs.
We’ve all been there, when we are waiting for a dental appointment and we’ve been told to wait in the waiting room, only to pass the time with a magazine, or a pass our child a toy to keep them quiet. But is waiting room entertainment, harmless fun or a bacteria breeding ground?
contamination. They confirmed that the need for educational posters displaying important health information for patients far outweighed the risk of cross contamination.
This is a good example of why addressing hygiene within waiting rooms needs to be done with a dose of common sense. There are obvious touch points within waiting rooms such as; door handles, pens and taps where cross contamination could take place and these should be treated regularly using appropriate cleaning solutions.
The provision of magazines within waiting rooms also came under fire during these visits, with representatives unofficially claiming that they harboured dangerous bacteria and germs. However a study conducted by Dr Colin Charnock and published in the British Medical Journals found that magazines play host only low levels of germs and bacterial contamination.
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This is supported by the Quality Care Commission who state that practices are not required to remove magazines. On the contrary they say that waiting room entertainment, including magazines, are important in easing any anxieties patients may feel. Instead, they should be well maintained and wiped clean of any obvious contamination.
Utilising hygienic and portable wiping systems is the easiest way for cleaning staff to wipe down key contact points and magazines, whilst ensuring wipes do not become contaminated as they are transported around the waiting
84 | HEALTH & SAFETY
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Dispensing one paper towel sheet at a time, it benefits from single sheet dispensing to ensure users only touch the paper towel take. With a long lasting roll and controlled dispensing, the Reflex® portable can reduce usage by 35% compared to standard tissues, positively impacting on cost and maintenance.
Toy story Toys and play areas are also a potential point of cross contamination for children visiting GP or dental surgeries. In a separate study also published in the British Medical Journal, it was found that although hard toys showed very low levels of bacteria and germs, soft toys were found to harbour higher levels of bacteria and were much harder to clean.
However, many children especially young children will place hard toys and even some magazines and books in their mouth, or will touch them after before or after their hands have been in their mouth. With this in mind, it is important that, along with magazines, they are cleaned thoroughly on a regular basis.
Presented in a hygienic poly pack, the Impact range of wipes from Lotus Professional® are ideal for wiping down toys for young children as they are lint free, meaning that there will be no trace of the wipes on toys children will put in their mouth.
Similarly to the Reflex® portable, they are fully encased in a hygienic polypack that protects them for contamination, meaning that they can be transported to the job in hand. Made from 100% natural fibres, they are 75% more absorbent than standard wipes, making them ideal for bot general wiping tasks and patient use.
Patients: wash your hands Encouraging patients to wash their hands is the best way to reduce the cross contamination of germs in waiting rooms,
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especially if they are coughing and sneezing on their hands, or after using the toilet.
The provision of easy to access and hygienic hand washing facilities is key in encouraging patients to wash their hands when they visit a surgery or washroom and should be readily available.
Many practices now display and encourage the use of hand sanitizer, enabling patients to sanitize their hands as they enter and leave the surgery. For optimum hygiene, the EnMotion® foam hand sanitizer removes the need for contact with the dispenser. Through motion sensed dispensing, it provides users with enough sanitizer, or soap, to clean their hands. A new pump and nozzle are also provided with each refill.
In washrooms, after washing hands the World Health Organisation states that using a single paper towel is the most hygienic way to dry hands. The EnMotion® paper towel dispenser, part of the same range, reduces the risk of paper towels within the dispenser becoming
contaminated by encasing the paper towels and dispensing them through motion sensed technology. A wave of the hand provides users the optimum amount of paper towel to dry their hands and prevents them touching more paper towels than they take, further decreasing the risk of cross contamination.
There are a number of places patients can pick up bacteria and germs throughout their day to day lives. Whilst maintaining high levels of hygiene and cleanliness in the waiting room is imperative in reducing the risk of them picking up bugs and germs, it should be approached with a dose of common sense and supported by the provision of well stocked and hygienic hand washing facilities.
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a brand of HEALTH & SAFETY | 85
“The Big Poop Scoop” This is such a feel-good piece that reinforces
our belief in the good-old British community. People getting behind campaigns at local levels is what really drives a project forward: backing from celebrities is always a positive, but it is ordinary citizens that make things happen. Okay, so it may just be dog-muck, but it’s a substance that annoys each and every one of us whether speed-walking to work or enjoying a leisurely Sunday stroll. We’re behind Keep Britain Tidy on this one!
Click here FEATURE | 25
June 2013
February 2013
October 2012
July 2013
March 2013
November 2012
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