HEALTHCARE HYGIENE
Beating winter viruses in the washroom
Paul Mulready, Marketing Manager of Northwood Hygiene Products, provides practical guidance on how to combat winter viruses in the washroom.
Winter viruses are on the way, and among them are the bugs that cause flu, COVID and norovirus. Unsurprisingly, these winter bugs bring added pressure for the NHS – but exactly how much?
February this year saw the NHS swamped
with more than 98,000 patients on average in hospital beds – the highest level last winter.
In December last year, NHS England reported that there were nearly 1,900 beds occupied by flu patients – more than three times higher than the year before – with doctors warning that they were struggling to contain the spread of the virus within hospitals.
Then there’s Norovirus – the winter vomiting bug – which affects nearly four million people every year, with 12,000 people being admitted to hospital with it. The financial cost to the NHS is estimated to run to £100m annually. Healthcare workers and patients are particularly vulnerable.
With flu, COVID and norovirus predicted to peak imminently, a clean and well-stocked washroom is essential to allow people to maintain good hand hygiene and reduce the spread of infection. To ensure washrooms deliver, there are a few factors that organisations should consider.
Preventing infection
One of the greatest challenges during the winter months is preventing infection in the first place. These germs can transmit easily though coughs and sneezes, but also through hand-to-hand contact, so it’s essential to promote a diligent hand hygiene programme at this time.
Functional washrooms are a must, so it’s wise to stock up on essentials, such as soap and paper towels to ensure good hand hygiene.
Proper hand washing and drying remain the most important ways of maintaining hygiene and reducing the chance of infection. It’s therefore important for managers to review the practicality of dispensers and invest in larger capacity units if necessary. Damp hands spread germs more readily, and with many people ignoring hand dryers on their way out
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of the washroom, it may be sensible to provide paper towels instead, which are both hygienic and convenient.
The design of washroom dispensers is really important too. With washrooms being constantly used, it is essential to control the use of paper towels to prevent overuse. Providers should therefore choose high-capacity, controlled-use dispensers that restrict the use of consumables like hand towels. Not only does this help to reduce costs, it also reduces waste and is therefore more environmentally sustainable.
Furthermore, dispensers which are sealed and splashproof keep products hygienically stored inside, helping to prevent the contents becoming contaminated.
Win-win solutions
Northwood’s high-capacity North Shore premium proprietary system of washroom dispensers and consumables is often specified because it is designed to deliver zero waste and volume in use. Providing industry- leading capacity and supreme cost-in-use benefits, it is easy to install and maintain, as well as being durable, hygienic and environmentally sustainable.
There are three wipe-clean hand towel dispensers, which include a high-capacity mechanical hands-free roll towel dispenser, a sensor-operated, premium towel on demand hybrid roll towel dispenser, and a folded towel dispenser, which dispenses sheets one at a time to prevent overuse.
There are a choice of soap dispensers and consumables for the washroom too. The easy to load manual soap dispenser is simple to wipe clean, with each cartridge including a new nozzle for added hygiene. It’s compatible with Northwood’s range of alcohol and alcohol-free sanitisers and soaps.
A well-equipped washroom is essential during the winter months to combat those winter nasties and providers can help to keep people safe by choosing in the right solutions that help everyone maintain good hand hygiene.
For further information, call 01952 236 930 or visit the website below.
www.northwood.co.uk x.com/TomoCleaning
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