CLEANING & HYGIENE
Against Infection
Paul Casson, Technical Field Manager from Rentokil Specialist Hygiene, and Jamie Woodhall, Area Technical Manager at Initial Washroom Hygiene, discuss the importance of effective hygiene regimes in combatting infection.
An outbreak of infection can pose a serious health risk to residents in a care home environment, so it is vital that workers do not become complacent when it comes to their hygiene regime.
Footfall in care homes is oſten very high, so keeping the environment clean and sanitised can understandably be a challenge for staff. However, with elderly or infirm residents who are more vulnerable to infection, it is crucial that hygiene standards do not slip at any point throughout the year.
Care home managers should make sure they have a routine cleaning regime in place and know when a specialist cleaning team should be brought in to deal with cleans outside of the norm. In order to prepare for the winter period, managers should also look to schedule a deep clean of key communal areas such as the residents lounge, visitor waiting room, as well as their kitchens and washrooms. This could help protect residents from infection via cross-contamination and reduce employee absenteeism when the traditional flu and norovirus season starts.
PERFECT PERSONAL HYGIENE
An important part of a care home manager’s job is to encourage employees to take sufficient care of their own personal health and hygiene to prevent the spread of illness. With care workers being in close contact with residents every day, it is crucial that staff are fully educated on the best ways to maintain personal hygiene.
One important area that managers should emphasise is hand hygiene. Cross-contamination can be a particular problem in communal environments, as some diseases are transmissible
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for several days and can live on hard surfaces such as door handles and walls. To minimise the spread of bacteria and viruses, hands should be washed thoroughly for 20–30 seconds using soap and water.
It’s also important that staff dry their hands properly. It has been shown that damp hands spread 1,000 times more bacteria than dry hands, so it is crucial that the drying stage is not overlooked. Staff should also have access to alcohol free sanitisers, as they provide an effective, long-lasting barrier to protect against microorganisms.
Continuous training and development for both management and staff helps to ensure high standards of hygiene are maintained alongside operational efficiency. This can also help prevent unnecessary downtime in the facility, minimising disruption to the lives of residents.
A CLEAN ROUTINE
It’s essential that cleaning is carried out in care homes both proactively and reactively.
Proactive cleaning involves the routine disinfection of shared contact points – such as door handles, surface tops – and communal areas. With most bacteria and viruses transmissible through touch, maintaining surface hygiene goes a long way. A regular cleaning regime should be the cornerstone of a hygiene strategy, as it is a crucial step in helping to prevent outbreaks.
Reactive cleaning occurs when necessary. In care homes, this oſten takes place in response to an outbreak of illness, or when an individual presents a transmissible infection. In this case, all areas inhabited by the individual should be thoroughly disinfected.
www.tomorrowscare.co.uk
The Fight
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