The key to infection control
As the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases continues to rise, Chris Wakefield, Vice President European Marketing & Product Development at GOJO Industries-Europe, explains how businesses can help to protect staff and visitors.
Consumer understanding of the connection between hand hygiene and wellness has grown phenomenally recently, thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition to awareness-raising campaigns to wash and sanitise hands, governments around the world have introduced various social distancing measures, including self-isolation, in a bid to halt the spread of the virus.
We are in unprecedented territory here. Never before in our lifetime has the UK government instructed people to avoid unnecessary social interaction, including advice to work from home where possible. But there are some industries where this simply isn’t possible – frontline health professionals, staff in care homes, and retail workers being just a few examples.
So how can businesses and organisations protect employees that have to come into work from contagious illnesses – both now, in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, and in future, from other, more common seasonal infections such as colds, winter flu, and norovirus?
The answer’s in our hands
As the World Health Organization (WHO), the UK government and the NHS have been reminding us, good hand hygiene is effective in breaking the chain of infection. This, in turn, helps to prevent the spread of germs, and create healthier workspaces. As a founder member of the WHO Private Organizations for Patient Safety group, GOJO has always been a strong advocate of making hand hygiene second nature to everyone, and is at the forefront of research to develop products that not only deliver results, but are also kind to the skin.
However, for hand hygiene to be an effective infection control measure, everybody within a building must practise it. Therefore, it is important that when opting for a hand hygiene system, FM business managers and decision- makers choose a company that will not only supply effective products and quality equipment, but also help to influence hygienic behaviour. Innovation and technological advances can both play a huge role in this respect.
64 | INFECTION CONTROL & PREVENTION Technological help
Soaps can be a gel or foam formulation, with or without fragrance, but they must be powerful enough to kill germs effectively, yet gentle enough to avoid skin irritation. Technological innovation can help us achieve this.
In fact, earlier this year we launched a new type of ‘healthy soap’ from PURELL, which features CLEAN RELEASE Technology’ (CRT). This enables users to achieve their deepest clean ever, reaching into areas of the skin that are difficult to access, to remove more than 99% of dirt and germs from hands. Furthermore, it’s also remarkably kind to skin – even with frequent use.
Innovative design
The choice of dispenser is also crucial. Touch-free systems are widely used these days, and are valued for their higher hygiene ratings, and their ability to help improve compliance. However, businesses should consider their design to ensure they help avoid common service issues, such as dispensers running empty or worn out batteries.
Users are unable to practise hand hygiene in either of these scenarios. GOJO’s latest offerings are technologically advanced dispensers with innovative refill designs, enabling operatives to monitor product levels at a glance, which in turn saves both time and labour.
The latest refills also come with an integrated battery, which enables continuous touch-free dispensing, without the worry of the battery wearing and needing to be replaced. What’s more, responsible companies will have designed dispensers with sustainability in mind.
In order for a hand hygiene system to be successful, facilities must be readily available and stocked with effective formulations. By encouraging staff, customers, and visitors to use them, the end results are cleaner hands and healthier working environments.
www.gojo.com
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