HOSPITALS & HEALTHCARE
quarter had experienced at least one incident of violence by patients or by members of the public during the previous 12 months.
It is a sobering thought that these findings emerged before anyone had even heard of COVID-19 – the 2020 global pandemic that has posed the most significant challenge to the NHS since its launch in 1948.
Endeavouring to deliver high levels of care in a pressurised situation is a major challenge for healthcare staff. Advice from the World Health Organisation for healthcare workers is that good hand hygiene should take between 40 and 60 seconds.
According to WHO, staff should wash their hands before touching a patient, before carrying out any aseptic procedure, after any exposure to body fluids, after touching a patient and after coming into contact with the patient’s surroundings.
WHO states that a healthcare worker’s visibly-soiled hands should be washed with soap and water and then thoroughly dried to ensure a thorough clean. If the hands are not visibly soiled, alcohol sanitiser may be used instead for a period of 30 seconds.
But when nurses and midwives are working long shifts and looking after scores of patients at a time, do they actually have the time to wash or sanitise their hands for 30-60 seconds? And is there any way of speeding up the process?
Hand hygiene can never be skimped, according to WHO. However, there are various ways of improving the efficiency of the process.
For example, hand washing and sanitising stations should be freely available and easy to locate. They should be kept well stocked at all times and dispensers must be easy to refill and use.
Systems such as the Tork Foam Soap Dispenser work well for hand washing in healthcare since the unit houses 2,500 shots of soap - more than twice the amount of an average liquid soap dispenser. This means the dispenser is less likely to run out when a hand-wash is urgently needed. The unit has also been designed to require low- hand strength which makes it particularly quick and easy to use.
Drying the hands is a vital part of any hand hygiene regime since damp hands transmit more than double the amount of bacteria as dry hands. But the wrong type of paper towel dispenser can slow up the hand drying process.
Low-capacity dispensers for folded towels will run out too quickly, forcing the nurse or midwife to waste valuable seconds trying to locate a towel elsewhere. Cleaners in charge of refilling these units may decide to compensate by “over-stuffing” dispensers with more towels than they should hold. This makes it difficult for the user to pull out a towel from the bottom, which wastes valuable seconds.
Roll towel dispensers offer a higher capacity but some models are prone to jamming.
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The Tork PeakServe Continuous Hand Towel works well in healthcare because the unit holds up to 2,100 towels at a time which means it is highly unlikely to run out between maintenance checks. The dispenser also gives out a towel in just three seconds which helps to speed up the hand drying process. Moreover, its continuous delivery system means it will never jam.
A frequent, lengthy hand hygiene regime can take its toll on nurses’ hands and result in chapping, soreness and occupational dermatitis. Areas of the hands that are cracked or raw are also more susceptible to being colonised by viruses and bacteria than healthy skin, which means healthcare staff with sore hands potentially present an even greater cross-infection risk to their patients.
For those prone to dermatitis or other skin conditions the NHS recommends the use of lukewarm water to gently remove all traces of soap. The hands should then be dried thoroughly, paying particular attention to the spaces between the fingers. Mild soaps such as Tork Extra Mild Foam Soap and Tork Extra Mild Liquid Soap will help to protect the frequently-washed hands of healthcare workers.
A soft, non-abrasive paper towel will also help to protect the hands. For intensive care units and other hygiene- critical wash stations where hand washing needs to be carried out particularly frequently, an extra soft towel such as the Tork Xpress Extra Soft Multifold Hand Towel works well.
Hand sanitisers are an effective solution for use between hand washes, but the placement of dispensers is all- important since busy nurses and midwives should not be required to waste time hunting around for sanitiser when they need it.
Studies have shown that the number of sanitiser dispensers supplied is less important than where they are positioned - and according to one study, optimising dispenser placement can increase usage by more than 50%.
Tork has issued a guide to optimum sanitiser dispenser placement at hospital entrances, at nurses’ stations, in a single bed room and on a four-bed ward. Tork Alcohol Hand Sanitisers are available in dispensers for general use as well as in smaller formats that can be clipped to a patient’s bed or issued to a medical worker.
https://www.tork.co.uk/about/hygiene/dispenser-placement-healthcare
The NHS also recommends the provision of fragrance- free conditioning creams in the healthcare sector to prevent chapping and soreness of the hands of nurses and midwives. Tork Non-perfumed Hand & Body Lotion works well in this type of situation.
Nurses do an incredible job - and the coronavirus pandemic has tested them to their limits. As members of the public we can only applaud them. But as representatives of the cleaning and hygiene industries we can also help them by doing whatever we can to make their job easier and improving the accessibility of good hand hygiene.
www.tork.co.uk TOMORROW’S FM | 53
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