CLEANING & HYGIENE
Handy Advice
Good hand hygiene is crucial in the care sector to prevent the risk of cross-contamination. Liam Mynes, from Tork manufacturer Essity, looks at care home protocols and considers ways in which hand-washing compliance may be improved in residential environments.
We are constantly being reminded of the need for hospital staff to wash their hands frequently to avoid passing on infections and viruses from patient to patient.
Studies highlighting poor hand hygiene compliance and new ways to improve it are constantly in the news. In fact, the World Health Organisation (WHO) stages a Save Lives; Clean Your Hands campaign every May, focusing on topics such as hand hygiene in surgical care; antibiotic resistance; the growing threat of sepsis and the need for good hand hygiene among nurses and midwives.
However, few bodies are equally as vocal about the importance of hand washing in the care home. This is an environment where frail, elderly people live in close proximity to one another which puts them at particular risk.
Admittedly, the WHO offers hand hygiene advice to care home workers on its website. According to WHO, staff should wash their hands before and aſter touching a resident, before any aseptic procedure and aſter exposure to bodily fluids.
This message was expanded in June 2019 by one UK NHS trust which issued its own, more detailed advice. In a document entitled Community Infection Prevention and Control Policies for Care Home Settings, the Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust noted that hygiene protocols should be rigorously applied when coming into contact with care home residents’ wounds and urinary catheter drainage systems, since these were both potential entry points for germs.
On top of the standard WHO advice, the Harrogate trust urged care workers to wash their hands on arrival at work and before going home, as well as aſter contact with the resident’s surroundings; before and aſter breaks; before putting on
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gloves and aſter taking them off again; and on any other occasion when their hands appeared to be visibly dirty.
Good hand hygiene in the care home can make a huge difference to resident outcomes. This was demonstrated in a study carried out in French residential care facilities and published in a 2018 issue of the American Journal of Infection Control.
The study used posters and campaigns to drive home a consistent hand hygiene message in selected care homes, and backed this up with the provision of easy-to-access hand-rub solutions in pocket-sized containers.
Facilities taking part in the study recorded fewer deaths and lower antibiotic prescription rates aſter the measures were implemented. In fact, researchers recorded a 30% lower mortality rate in those care homes taking part in the study compared to similar facilities during the virulent flu season of January-March 2015.
So, hand hygiene should be actively encouraged in care homes. But, in order to ensure that staff, residents and visitors all cleanse their hands thoroughly and at frequent intervals, it is important to make sure that appropriate facilities are prominently displayed, easy to use and conveniently located.
Plentiful supplies of soap and hand towels should be supplied in washrooms, wash stations and residents’ toilets so that hand washing and drying can be carried out easily. Soap should be housed in closed cartridges to avoid any risk of contamination before use, and all hand towel dispensers should give out only one towel at a time to ensure that each user only touches their own towel.
www.tomorrowscare.co.uk
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