INFECTION CONTROL
BALANCING CONTROL WITH COSTS IN HEALTHCARE
As healthcare providers face mounting pressure around infection control and operational efficiency, Catherine Grinstead, UKI Customer Marketing Manager of Kimberly-Clark Professional, explores how smarter hygiene solutions can help reduce contamination risks across hospitals and clinics.
In today’s healthcare environments, maintaining exceptional hygiene standards is essential to both operational efficiency and patient safety. As healthcare providers continue to face increasing pressure around hygiene compliance, healthcare-acquired infections (HAIs), workforce shortages and rising operational costs, the need for effective, scalable hygiene solutions has never been greater.
Kimberly-Clark Professional (KCP) explores how healthcare facilities can achieve this critical balance, not only within washrooms, but also across high-traffic patient and visitor areas where the risk of germ transmission is often highest.
Hot spots, objects that are touched by lots of people throughout the day such as doorknobs, elevator buttons, handrails, need to be cleaned and disinfected regularly to break the chain of germ transmission. In a span of 24 hours, the average adult touches 7,200 surfaces, and then touches their face 552 times.
Healthcare sites have heavy foot traffic which creates high risk areas for spreading germs, especially for HAIs. In fact, according to research studies by the National Library of Medicine, poor cleaning of surfaces within healthcare facilities is a major source of HAIs because of the transmission of microorganisms, such as MRSA. According to the British Medical Journal, HAI’s cost the NHS £2.7bn annually, which means it’s never been more critical for healthcare teams to maintain clean environments for patients and workers alike.
“IN A SPAN OF 24 HOURS, THE AVERAGE ADULT TOUCHES 7,200 SURFACES, AND THEN TOUCHES THEIR FACE 552 TIMES.”
KCP understands how increasingly difficult it is for healthcare teams to achieve infection control. The company acknowledges the complex pressures faced by cleaning teams in hospitals, and that having the right solution and the right support is crucially important in helping to keep people safe. As such, it consistently targets research and development towards finding solutions that encourage hand hygiene compliance, reduce the risk of cross-contamination, and improve cleaning efficiency with products available direct through NHS Supply Chain or local Distribution partners.
REDUCING THE RISK WITH CRITICAL CLEANING
WypAll wipes from Kimberly-Clark Professional are engineered to serve specific tasks in all environments. For sectors where cleaning cannot be compromised, the WypAll CriticalClean selection offers wiping products designed to reduce human error and contamination.
Engineered to enhance regulatory hygiene practices and ensure compliance, WypAll cloths have been designed to give staff, patients and visitors confidence
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that surfaces are hygienic wherever they are in a hospital or clinic. WypAll X50 Critical Clean cloths provide the flexible, yet durable wipes needed for extended use with disinfectants, bleach and sanitisers that is required in healthcare settings for infection control. The non-woven low lint cloths are engineered with advanced Hydroknit technology ensuring they are both lightweight and absorbent when used on any surface.
The wipes stay strong and durable whether wet or dry, and are food-contact certified, guaranteeing the highest levels of safety and minimising the risk of contamination in canteens, and the many other eating areas found in hospitals. They notably have superior crumb pick-up, efficiently trapping dirt and grime for quick and effective cleaning which is especially useful in high turnaround and busy healthcare settings.
WypAll X50 is available in four distinct colours to help avoid cross contamination by clearly identifying different cleaning tasks for different coloured wipes. With the pressure of working fast but effectively, the colour coded system can reduce mistakes but also streamline procedures.
For a faster and more efficient clean, Wypall X80 Colour Coded cloths are available with even more absorbency, stronger and even more suitable for contaminant removal and deep cleaning which might be required during patient changeover, deep cleaning or for oily or grease heavy substances.
http://www.kcprofessional.com/en-us/brands/wypall/right-purpose-wipes/x70-x80-cleaning-cloths
www.kcprofessional.com
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