need to wash their hands more frequently than most. Tork Foam Soap comes in a Sensitive version which is allergy- friendly 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. A fragrance-free conditioning cream such as Tork Sensitive Moisturising Hand Lotion will help to prevent chapping and soreness when used after handwashing.


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 caters for up to 1,650 visitors, which will ensure that the unit will not run out when a handwash is urgently needed.


Of course, it is not the healthcare staff alone who will run the risk of picking up and transmitting COVID in a hospital. Multiple areas of all wards could quickly become contaminated by the hands of other people touching them. The bed rails and chairs might be touched by hospital visitors, for example, while the lockers, bedside tables and call buttons will be frequently touched by the patients themselves.


Hand gel stations are usually installed at strategic points around hospitals and outside ward doors, but no one actually checks whether visitors are using them because healthcare staff are too busy to keep a check on other people’s hand hygiene.


Prominent posters situated around the hospital will act as a reminder for staff, visitors and patients while efforts should also be made to enhance the signage around sanitiser dispensers, and these should be placed in strategic positions to ensure that they are used.


Hospital studies have shown that visitors are five times more likely to use a hand sanitiser dispenser when they


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enter the facility if it's prominently located in the middle of a hospital reception area, rather than tucked away to the side. Essity makes recommendations to healthcare facilities on where to position hand sanitiser dispensers to increase usage by staff, patients and visitors. Besides the hospital entrance, these units should be situated on walking routes and in key positions near the entrances to nursing stations.


Hospital washrooms for the use of visitors and patients should be kept well stocked with soap and paper towels to facilitate hand hygiene. All dispensers should be quick and easy to use to reduce queueing and to make hand hygiene accessible to everyone.


Healthcare and cleaning staff need to be kept up to date with best cleaning and hand hygiene practices – and educational posters on their own might not be a sufficient source of information. We at Essity have launched a new learning management platform to improve the adoption of hygiene standards in hospitals and healthcare facilities.


The Tork Learning Management System (LMS) improves access to free training for healthcare staff, while also enabling managers to assign and track necessary learnings. The training includes modules on environmental cleaning and hand hygiene in 27 languages, and are designed to engage and inspire healthcare and cleaning professionals to meet best-in-class standards for hygiene. Tork LMS becomes available in North America, Germany and the UK this autumn and is free to use.


Thorough surface cleaning and scrupulous hand washing are vital in a hospital to minimise the risk of bacterial or viral transmission. So, all healthcare facilities should focus on their cleaning regimes, promote hand hygiene and offer their staff comprehensive training in order to reduce the threat of COVID outbreaks this autumn.


www.tork.co.uk/cleancarehealthcare TOMORROW'S CLEANING | 53


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