Hospitals battle infections with robots
The Xenex, a mobile robotic device said to combat germs with blasts of UV light, has been developed for use in hospitals.
The device, devised by US epidemiologists, is said to disinfect a hospital room in a space of just five to 10 minutes. It is used as a follow- up to cleaning teams and focuses on high-touch surfaces such as tray tables, telephones and bedrails.
Cooley Dickinson Hospital in Northampton, Mass, has reported a 67% drop in infections
from C.difficile after using the device. The hospital plans to purchase a third Xenex machine later this year.
Also using the device is Cone Health, which has been using the Xenex in four of its hospitals since January 2011. Since then, the chain has reduced MRSA infections by 35% in hospital wards and has even lowered it to zero in intensive care units.
Dr Mary Jo Cagle, Chief Quality Officer of Cone Health, told the press: "This has been a game-
Are You Ready?
The Are You Ready? campaign by Sealed Air’s Diversey business aims to promote personal hygiene and surface disinfection and provide customers with the tools and information to prepare for and protect against the seasonal onset of common illnesses such as influenza and norovirus. The campaign includes information, resources and products to help prevent and reduce the impact of these illnesses and is part of the company’s wider commitment to protecting lives.
As a leading global supplier of cleaning, hygiene and sanitation solutions Diversey’s mission is to “protect lives, preserve the earth
and transform the industry”. The company has always been at the forefront of infection prevention and it continues to work alongside major organisations in the healthcare, building care and food service sectors – among many others – to help them introduce appropriate, effective and sustainable infection prevention processes.
The “Are You Ready?” programme has been devised around a complete set of tools, information, products and resources. It will include a complete range of point-of-use information such as posters, leaflets and other guides which explain in simple and clear
changer for us. Rooms are cleaned faster and are safer now. When you're talking about critically-ill patients, just getting them into a room 15 minutes faster can mean the difference between life and death."
Xenex's technology is currently being used in more than 20 hospitals in the US, and the company hopes to have it in 240 by the end of this year, with hospitals in Europe and Asia also expressing an interest.
language the best procedures and products to use for effective personal hygiene and surface disinfection.
This new campaign, which will run for at least 18 months, builds on the company’s experience with recent major outbreaks of infections that captured the world’s attention.
Diversey has also relaunched its dedicated
www.cleanerandhealthier.com website, originally developed in response to the Influenza Type A (H1N1) influenza pandemic in 2009. The new site has a wider range of information and resources about the commonest seasonal illnesses and how to combat them.
www.diversey.com You have eight minutes...
Insurance company workers in Norway are protesting against a toilet system that triggers an alarm if they spend more than eight minutes in the loo.
Managers are alerted by flashing lights if an employee is away from their desk for a toilet break or other "personal activities" for longer
than the allocated time.
But unions and workplace inspectors have branded the practice at insurance company DNB as "highly intrusive" and a potential breach of their human rights.
Datatilsynet, Norway's privacy regulator, has
now written to DNB telling them the monitoring system is "a major violation of privacy.”
It said: "Each individual worker has different needs and these kinds of strict controls deprive the employees of all freedoms over the course of their working day."
The future of our cleaning industry | TOMORROW’S CLEANING | 19 WORLD NEWS
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70
