CLEANING & HYGIENE
In Safe Hands Trudi Osborne, Marketing Manager at Airdri, highlights why infection control is a major
priority for care home operators, and the importance of promoting proper hand hygiene by ensuring washrooms are accessible and inclusive.
Infection control has long been a hot topic for care and nursing home operators. They have a duty of care to ensure that residents, visitors and staff are living and working in a safe and hygienic environment, to reduce the risk of spreading bacteria. However, with many residents oſten suffering from underlying health issues, they are more vulnerable to picking up illnesses. This higher risk of infection, coupled with poor hand hygiene, can have a detrimental effect on the wider community.
Stopping bacteria in their tracks through proper hand hygiene processes can have an extremely positive impact on the overall health of the care home, protecting the resident, visitor and healthcare worker. Put simply, handwashing is the single most important way to prevent the spread of infection. Although this sounds like an easy solution, unfortunately hand hygiene is oſten overlooked and many people are unaware of the ways to wash their hands effectively. According to research by The Royal Pharmaceutical Society, 84% of adults in the UK do not wash their hands for long enough to effectively remove germs. Added to this, if people don’t dry their hands properly aſter washing, bacteria can spread amongst damp hands. Ensuring residents understand correct procedures is paramount.
Educating both residents and staff is essential to achieving good standards of hand hygiene. However, in a care home setting, all too oſten this only addresses half of the problem. Regardless of whether residents understand the importance of washing their hands effectively, if the washroom isn’t inviting, it is less likely to be used. Ensuring the washroom is inclusive and accessible is key to promoting proper hand washing, so when it comes to selecting the right hand dryers, there are a number of factors and social issues to keep in mind, primarily relating to the noise and size of equipment.
Elderly residents oſten need assistance in the washroom and, although many care home bathrooms are designed to give the space and accessibility to cater for this, many are let down by the addition of bulky apparatus which can cause obstructions. Manoeuvring around such equipment can be especially problematic for wheelchair users and those using walking aids. Maintaining streamlined surfaces with slim profile
- 22 -
products can make navigating the washroom a much easier and more pleasant experience. Wall-mounted hand dryers, with a slim profile, such as the Airdri Quazar, one of Airdri’s ADA compliant units, can keep floor and lower-wall space free, leaving residents able to move around without the risk of colliding with large, obtrusive equipment.
The initial burst of loud noise when a hand dryer is activated can startle many, but it can actually become quite distressing for the elderly. Positioned in an enclosed, tiled environment, hand dryer sound is amplified, putting pressure on the eardrums and causing significant discomfort. For some, particularly hearing aid wearers and dementia sufferers, loud high-speed hand dryers can startle them and leave them feeling intimidated, discouraging them from using the washroom facilities.
Hand dryer noise level should be an important factor for care home operators when making a purchase. With over 45 years’ experience in hand dryer design and manufacture, we have created some of the quietest, most effective hand dryers on the market. In fact, we were the first-hand dryer manufacturer in the world to be awarded the Quiet Mark; a seal of approval from the UK Noise Abatement Society. This accolade enabled us to lead the way, shaping industry standards around sound level reduction, and since then four of our best-selling products have also received the Quiet Mark approval.
Ensuring facilities are environmentally friendly is a priority for purchasers, so investing in a hand dryer that will go the distance, as well as keep energy running costs to a minimum, is key. To be truly ‘green’, a hand dryer must consume very little power- under 1,000 watts, in fact. This is where our Airdri Quazar ticks another box, as it achieved the coveted GreenSpec status following an assessment of its energy conservation and waste-free operation, meaning that it not only benefits buyers but also reflects your wider social responsibility.
Today, we are as committed as ever to creating highly reliable, energy efficient and beautifully designed hand dryers that suit every washroom and are inclusive to all users.
www.airdri.com
www.tomorrowscare.co.uk
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52
