HOSPITALS & HEALTHCARE FACILITIES
THE HEALTHCARE CHALLENGES A staffing crisis and an ageing population are among the many challenges currently facing UK hospitals. Liam Mynes from Tork manufacturer Essity looks at the scale of the problem and considers how a few changes in cleaning and hygiene regimes could help to ease the burden on healthcare.
Healthcare staff and members of the public agree: the NHS is in crisis. This was the Department of Health and Social Care’s verdict in a December 2025 paper entitled: Where the NHS is today.
According to collated feedback gathered from the Change NHS website, around 68% of people have recently experienced trouble in accessing an NHS appointment while 62% have encountered delays in A&E.
Around 80% of healthcare workers claim to have experienced staffing shortages while 58% report high levels of staff turnover. Other problems such as a lack of funding and poor technology were also cited as factors that posed a threat to safe and effective care.
Staff shortages are a global problem and the UK is no exception, with more than 100,000 healthcare NHS jobs currently unfilled. By 2030 there is expected to be a 4.1 million shortfall in healthcare staff across the whole of the EU.
The fact that the population is ageing means more people are seeking care and fewer operatives are available to provide it. Post-COVID burnout has also prompted many people to leave the profession, leading to further vacancies.
Providing a high level of care becomes even more challenging in situations where staff are overstretched. Medical workers will be moving from one crisis to another, fighting fires and making quick decisions before moving on to the next task. This can lead to corners being cut – particularly when it comes to cleaning and hygiene.
Strict cleaning and hygiene protocols are vital in healthcare to prevent infections from spreading and outbreaks from occurring. But thorough cleaning and effective hand hygiene takes time and require training – both of which are in short supply in a cash-strapped sector.
Hand washing is crucial for medical staff as they move from patient to patient, delivering effective care. Soiled hands should be washed with soap and water for between 40 and 60 seconds and then thoroughly dried to ensure a thorough clean. If the hands are not visibly soiled, an alcohol gel product may be used instead for 20-30 seconds.
In the midst of a staffing crisis, healthcare workers will have little spare time to carry out the regular 60-second hand-washes the World Health Organization advocates. It is important that hospitals make the process as easy and seamless as possible to minimise the time spent walking to and from a hand hygiene station and accessing the products when they get there.
Soap and paper dispensers should be situated close to their likely point of use and must be kept topped up at all times. These units should also be easy to use because valuable time can be wasted in attempting to extract towels from an over-filled dispenser or trying to coax a faulty soap unit to work.
The Tork Soap and Sanitiser Dispenser has been designed to be particularly easy to use and serves up to 1,650 visitors per cartridge to ensure that it will not run out when hand hygiene is urgently needed.
Frequent hand washing followed by drying can aggravate the skin and lead to conditions such as occupational dermatitis, which could make healthcare workers more reluctant to carry out a thorough hand-wash. It could also create an even greater risk of cross-infection.
Areas of the hands that are cracked or raw are more susceptible to being colonised by viruses and bacteria than healthy skin. Mild soaps such as Tork Sensitive Foam Soap and Tork Sensitive Liquid Soap help to protect the frequently- washed hands of healthcare workers, while a soft, non- abrasive paper towel will further soothe the hands. The Tork Matic Soft Hand Roll works well in intensive care units and other hygiene-critical wash stations where hand washing needs to be carried out frequently.
“The fact that the population is ageing means more people are seeking care and fewer operatives are available to provide it.
Health authorities often recommend the provision of fragrance-free conditioning creams to improve skin health after washing. Tork Sensitive Moisturising Hand Cream, for example, has been formulated to help prevent chapping and soreness.
In cases where hand washing is impractical or inconvenient, staff should be encouraged to sanitise their hands using an alcohol gel or hand rub. Tork Alcohol Hand Sanitisers are available in a range of formats designed to be convenient to use for the medical worker.
It is not sufficient to simply supply operatives with appropriate hand hygiene products, however. Staff
38 | TOMORROW’S FM
twitter.com/TomorrowsFM
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
