A step ahead
Cleanliness is critically important in healthcare settings to help prevent and control healthcare-associated infections (HCAIs). Mark Bresnihan, Managing Director of Industrial Cleaning Equipment (ICE), explains more and reveals how one of ICE’s most innovative new products is being used successfully in a Scottish hospital.
Bacterial infections and viruses love environments where people come into close physical contact with each other. Whether you are commuting on public transport, in the
office, at the leisure centre, in school, or at one of countless other venues –wherever other people have been, there will also be the potential for the spread of germs.
Maintaining the highest cleaning standards is therefore crucial to any company or organisation. However, it is even more important in healthcare environments such as doctors’ surgeries, care homes and hospitals, which need to put in place preventative measures to guard against healthcare- associated infections (HCAIs).
According to the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE), HCAIs can develop either as a result of healthcare interventions such as medical or surgical treatment, or from being in contact with a
healthcare setting. The term HCAI covers a wide range of infections, the most well-known being meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), meticillin- sensitive Staphylococcus aureus (MSSA), Clostridium difficile (C.difficile) and Escherichia coli (
E.coli).
Environmental cleanliness is therefore essential, and NICE advises trust boards that they must, ‘ensure that policies, procedures and resources are in place to maintain and continuously raise the level of cleanliness across the trust.’ British Standards Institute PAS 5748 Cleanliness in Healthcare Facilities – Hospitals; and specifications from the National Patient Safety Association also give clear guidance on standards in this area.
Industrial Cleaning Equipment (ICE) has over 40 years’ experience in the cleaning sector and can offer a wide range of products and services ideal for healthcare settings. We can advise you on the best products to deliver the results you require, and supply them to you, be they scrubber dryers, steam cleaners, sweepers or vacuums. For example, when selecting
products to clean healthcare settings it’s a good idea to choose vacuum cleaners that have HEPA filtration to trap spores and
organisms that could spread infections. Similarly, machines used to clean hard floors may also need to scrub deeply between tiles, and floor cleaners must leave floors ready to walk on in minutes to prevent slips and trips for patients, staff or visitors.
ICE can also offer training for your employees to ensure that they get the maximum benefit from their equipment and to ensure that it is used in the most effective and efficient ways. Our training is certified by the British Institute of Cleaning Science (BICSc) and we have a dedicated UK installation team on hand to support and guide when needed.
One of ICE’s most innovative new products is being used by Serco at the Forth Valley Royal Hospital in Larbert, Scotland. The Cleanfix Robo 40 has built-in sensors that help it to ‘see’ obstacles and move around them, enabling it to clean floors without any manual intervention. This robotic compact scrubber dryer can clean the size of a triple gymnasium and it has three operating modes to suit the layout of the building or the area that needs to be cleaned: spiral, hall or corridor. As well as helping to ensure spotless surfaces and assisting with infection prevention and control, the Cleanfix Robo 40 also meets the hospital’s environmental obligations, using minimal water and chemicals to clean and dry floors.
www.ice-clean.com
HEALTHCARE & HOSPITAL HYGIENE 42 | TOMORROW’S CLEANING | The future of our cleaning industry
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