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https://www.ajicjournal.org/article/S0196-6553(21)00003-1/fulltext)
Kindness for carers
Liam Mynes, from Tork manufacturer Essity, considers the vital role played by cleaning and hygiene businesses in providing our healthcare heroes with products, tools and support they need to make their working lives easier during the global pandemic.
It has been a tough 12 months for NHS staff – perhaps the toughest year of their lives.
Back in March 2020, healthcare workers were obliged to work long hours and face stressful situations on a daily basis when the effects of COVID-19 first began to be felt.
Hospital wards were crammed to capacity and healthcare staff began to fall ill in large numbers. We hailed them as heroes and clapped for them publicly every Thursday, and we put up posters and displayed messages of support to show our appreciation.
Yet by last October, cases of COVID-19 were on the rise again and there has been little respite for the NHS ever since. More than 200 NHS workers have now died in the UK since the start of the pandemic – a number that includes doctors, nurses, technicians, porters and cleaners.
Healthcare staff are exhausted and demoralised. Many of us owe our lives to them, and will never be able to repay them, but companies such as Essity can demonstrate their appreciation in small ways, such as by providing user- friendly cleaning and hygiene products and by offering them support and guidance.
Hospitals are busy places where decisions need to be made quickly – and this is particularly the case during a global pandemic. However, medical staff in patient-facing roles need to ensure that their hands are always scrupulously clean before treating patients.
52 | HEALTHCARE HYGIENE
Healthcare workers should take between 40 and 60 seconds to thoroughly wash their hands according to advice from the World Health Organization (WHO), but frequent hand washing takes its toll on the skin and can make life difficult for the healthcare worker.
A Royal College of Nursing survey carried out in December 2019 revealed that 93% of nurses had suffered skin conditions on their hands or wrists during the previous year. More than half the people questioned in the survey claimed to have experienced redness, itching, dryness or cracking of the skin with 46% describing the condition of their hands as ‘poor’ or ‘very poor’.
Products such as mild soaps, soft hand towels and moisturisers will help alleviate these problems and demonstrate an extra level of care to staff members. For example, Tork Foam Soap comes in an Extra Mild version which is particularly kind to the hands, while Tork Xpress Extra Soft Multifold Hand Towels are soft, absorbent and gentle on the skin. The provision of a fragrance-free conditioning cream, such as Tork Non-perfumed Hand & Body Lotion, will help to prevent chapping and soreness when used after hand washing.
Besides being skin-friendly, all hand hygiene products should be easy to use since this will facilitate the process for harassed healthcare workers. The dispenser for Tork Foam Soap has been designed to be particularly easy to use even for people with low hand strength, and the unit houses
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