HEALTHCARE HYGIENE Today’s healthcare challenges
With many infections and viruses creating challenges for UK hospitals this winter, Liam Mynes from Tork manufacturer Essity looks at the importance of thorough cleaning and hand hygiene in the healthcare sector in a bid to prevent outbreaks.
It has been a difficult start to the year for the healthcare sector in the UK.
At the beginning of January, the NHS reported exceptionally high patient numbers with a total of 93% of beds being occupied. Meanwhile, a 47% rise in the number of flu cases in hospitals was recorded compared with the previous week. At the same time, the number of flu patients occupying critical care beds had increased by more than a quarter.
It was also reported in early January that the number of patients in UK hospitals with COVID had risen by almost 1,200 on the previous week, with an average of 9,390 patients being in hospital with the illness on any given day.
Monkeypox has been another cause for alarm over recent months. By September 2022 the UK had racked up a total of 3,485 confirmed cases of the condition, while 12 deaths in non-endemic countries had been recorded.
Then of course there has been the recent wave of Strep A infections, which had led to more than 150 deaths at the time of writing and has created a further cause for alarm this winter. There has also been the annual norovirus scourge to contend with on top of all these other concerns.
The combination of all these conditions has left our hospitals in disarray. Colchester and Ipswich hospitals were among those institutions reporting their busiest period ever this winter, claiming that they were being forced to turn away patients arriving at their A&E department.
Norfolk and Norwich Hospital announced that it, too, was facing a ‘perfect storm of infections’ in the form of COVID, flu and norovirus. Wye Valley NHS Trust had to close both the inpatient wards at its Bromyard Community Hospital at one point this winter due to a virulent norovirus outbreak.
Add to all of this the current staff shortages combined with the recent strikes by medical staff, and it becomes clear that the UK's healthcare sector is facing a series of unprecedented challenges.
With contagious illnesses running rife and outbreaks occurring everywhere, it has become more important than ever that all cleaning and hand hygiene protocols should be rigidly followed. So, hospitals need to be equipped with the right tools and training to enable staff to practice good hygiene and cleaning procedures as efficiently and as painlessly as possible.
Experts agree that hand hygiene can help to prevent the spread of many infections and viruses. The World Health Organization claims that up to 40% of healthcare-related
32 | TOMORROW'S CLEANING
superbug infections could be avoided by practising good hand hygiene.
However, various studies have shown there to be a mixed level of hand hygiene compliance among healthcare staff, even after the global pandemic.
This is thought to be due to a number of factors including a shortage of time, the non-availability of products and a poor understanding of the importance of good hand hygiene. Some healthcare workers also complain of bad skin health due to frequent handwashing, particularly where harsh soaps and abrasive hand towels are employed.
So it’s important to ensure that skin-friendly products are always made available to staff, and that healthcare workers understand the importance of using them.
Mild soaps and soft hand towels will help to improve the handwashing experience. These should be housed in high-capacity dispensers that ensure a long-lasting supply while also being easy to use. For example, Tork Extra Mild Foam Soap is allergy-friendly and certified by ECARF, the European Centre for Allergy Research Foundation, while Tork Xpress Extra Soft Multifold Hand Towels are soft, absorbent and gentle on the skin.
The Tork Skincare Dispenser has been designed to be particularly easy to use even for people with low hand strength, and the unit serves up to 1,650 visitors which ensures that it will not run out when a hand wash is urgently needed.
In cases where handwashing is impractical or inconvenient, staff should be encouraged to sanitise their hands using an alcohol gel or hand rub. Tork Alcohol Hand Sanitisers are available in a range of formats designed to be convenient for the medical worker’s use.
A fragrance-free conditioning cream such as Tork Sensitive Moisturising Hand Cream should also be provided to help prevent chapping and soreness when used after handwashing.
Staff also need to be instructed on the optimum way of washing their hands. Essity’s own Tork Clean Hands Training module invites users into a digital world where they are confronted with a series of scenarios in which hand hygiene needs to be carried out. Developed in collaboration with behavioural scientists and hand hygiene experts, the course aims to provide hand hygiene guidance in an engaging way.
Cleaning has become more important than ever in hospitals to prevent bugs from lingering on surfaces. It’s important that cleaners understand the need for frequent surface cleaning and are instructed in how this should be carried out in the
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