CLEANING & HYGIENE The Heart of Care


At a time of significant staff shortages and pressure to be more sustainable, Eileen Calder, Product Manager, Wipes – Berry Global, at Chicopee, explains how the choice of materials can help get the best out of cleaning regimes.


The Covid-19 pandemic placed cleaning and hygiene at the top of the public’s consciousness – and nowhere more so than in the care sector. Reassuring residents and their families that premises are being kept free from infection is a key aspect of any care home’s success – and of course a legal requirement, with Regulation 15 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 placing cleanliness at the heart of the guidelines on premises.


Yet operators face significant challenges in meeting this requirement. Crucially, the sector is facing an unprecedented shortage of care workers, which obviously impacts on numbers of cleaning staff. According to recent Office for National Statistics (ONS) research, the country is grappling with its worst staff shortage since the late 1990s, with a record number of vacancies.


THE FOUR S’S OF MODERN CARE


HOME CLEANING In an effort to alleviate staffing issues, there’s a move in the market towards larger homes with more beds – but this doesn’t necessarily help to optimise cleaning. Indeed, given the increased risk of cross-contamination in larger premises, effective cleaning becomes even more important.


An additional consideration is the growing trend towards sustainable cleaning. Whether driven by regulatory compliance, or operators’ own desire to improve their environment footprint, it has a knock-on effect as to how cleaning regimes are organised. Typically, ‘green cleaning’ is synonymous with ‘chemical-free cleaning,’ which means that alternatives have to be a proven, robust means of eradicating bacteria on site.


In other words, cleaning in care homes today must be simple, scalable and sustainable. Simple: to minimise the impact of staffing shortages and ensure cleaning regimes can be taught quickly to newcomers. Scalable: to achieve effective results whatever the size of the care home. Sustainable: for all of the environmental benefits it brings.


You might call them the three S’s. Except that there’s a fourth ‘S’ – safety – which continues to underpin all other considerations. Ultimately, cleaning must deliver a safe environment for residents and staff.


CHOOSING THE RIGHT MATERIALS


As a longstanding manufacturer of professional cleaning wipes, Chicopee is well versed in dealing with nuances in best practice from one sector to another. Our portfolio includes various options well suited to specific environments and their attendant risk profiles – and the care home sector is no exception.


Given the trends discussed above, our recommendation for care home cleaning regimes is the Chicopee Microfibre


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Light from our Healthcare range. The unique structure of this ingenious cloth features splitable microfibres, around seven times thinner than traditional microfibres, which themselves can be up to 20 times thinner than human hair. The accumulative surface area of the fibres ensure that bacteria are trapped in the cloth and not released onto the next surface – thereby reducing the risk of cross-contamination.


Tests carried out at an independent laboratory certify 99.99% bacteria removal, with no need to use chemicals. The disposable nature of the cloth means that, once captured, bacteria will not recontaminate the surface or be spread to others.


It is easy to use and, crucially, not labour- or resource- intensive. Microfibre Light is the ideal alternative to laundered cloths, because laundry processes can take up a lot of time – as we’ve seen, an increasingly valuable commodity when staffing is an issue.


Not only that, but a study published in the American Journal of Infection Control found that 93% of laundered microfibre cloths still contained dangerous levels of bacteria, even aſter washing. Therefore, a disposable microfibre solution, free from chemicals and with no need for laundering, is the most effective way to meet the stringent cleaning standards required in care homes.


Good cleaning is at the heart of good care. By harnessing the capabilities of the Microfibre Light cloth, you can achieve cleaning that meets the four S’s – simple, scalable, sustainable, and safe.


https://chicopee.com/eu www.tomorrowscare.co.uk


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