Birgitta Bergström, MSc, Microbiology and hygiene at RISE Agrifood and Bioscience, said: “Our study shows that patient-near surfaces can harbour potentially pathogenic bacteria; proper hand hygiene after contact with surfaces can help prevent cross-contamination and potentially help reduce HAI’s.”
In an earlier three-year study with 16 hospitals supported by SCA’s Tork brand, 60% of healthcare workers considered placement as a main contributor to better compliance for long-term results.
Carolyn Berland, Senior scientist with R&D at SCA, said: “Our study has shown that it is important to look at hand hygiene moments from the healthcare worker perspective and tasks, making it as easy as possible to comply with the five moments, and also including easy access and logical placement of dispensers, a small change that can have a big impact.”
The Tork skincare dispensers used in the study are a part of the overall hand hygiene offering for healthcare. Given how crucial frequent hand hygiene praxis is amongst healthcare workers, the selection of sanitising and soap products is optimised to be as gentle, efficient and quick to use as possible.
TORK STUDY HIGHLIGHTS HOSPITAL SURFACE HYGIENE RISKS
Tork, a brand of global hygiene and health company SCA, together with Research Institutes of Sweden (RISE), have shared new research looking at the prevalence of bacteria found within healthcare settings for World Hand Hygiene Day on 5th May 2017.
The two-year study involved SCA researchers, healthcare and research institutions, and was sponsored by Vinnova, the Swedish government agency responsible for promoting sustainable growth through innovation. It looked at textiles and surfaces in patient surroundings as possible sources of healthcare associated infections (HAIs).
Using DNA sampling, researchers examined the bacterial community found on surfaces in the patient’s immediate surroundings which include: textiles (privacy curtains, neonatal incubator bedding); bed guardrails; and floors in patient wards, toilets and showers. The examined surfaces harboured a wide variety of bacteria, some of which are potential pathogens and can lead to infections.
The findings emphasise the need for proper hand hygiene at the World Health Organization’s (WHO) “5th Moment for Hand Hygiene” – after contact with patient surroundings. Unfortunately, according to the American Journal of Infection Control, hand hygiene compliance in healthcare settings tends to be the lowest for the 5th moment. Only 60% of healthcare workers clearly recognise and follow this step.
6 | NEWS
According to WHO, HAIs remain a major problem. Good hand hygiene is widely considered the single-most important method of reducing these infections. Therefore each year the WHO, with the help of Private Organizations for Patient Safety (POPS) participants, highlight the importance of hand hygiene on the World Hand Hygiene Day. SCA is a proud participant of this program.
Carolyn continued: “Healthcare workers are busy people trying hard to protect their patients’ health. They need and deserve our support to be able to perform hand hygiene quickly and easily when needed. World Hand Hygiene day can give these professionals an added boost in the difficult task of maintaining high compliance.”
www.hygienematters.com
To encourage compliance and help prevent infection spread, Tork recommends the following actions:
• Educate staff and visitors about the importance of the 5th moment in hand hygiene. Healthcare workers can test their hand hygiene knowledge by taking an online quiz here:
www.playbuzz.com/brooke127/the-hand- hygiene-challenge
• Have clear, detailed routines for cleaning patient areas
• Clean patient textiles frequently and consider when disposable textiles can be helpful
• Improve compliance by using Tork dispenser placement recommendations for healthcare facilities. For recommendations based on Tork research
www.tork.co.uk/about/hygiene/dispenser-placement- healthcare
• Visit the WHO’s World Hand Hygiene Day global campaign site:
www.who.int/gpsc/5may
twitter.com/TomoCleaning
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
