INFECTION PREVENTION AND CONTROL
Disposing of human waste safely and hygienically
New advances in sluice room technology mean that hospitals can improve their infection prevention and control procedures – while still saving money and reducing carbon emissions, according to ‘world-class’ infection prevention and control specialist, DDC Dolphin. The company’s Marketing and HR director, Zoe Allen, outlines the latest new opportunities available to NHS Trusts.
Advances in bedpan washer-disinfector technology are helping hospitals to improve infection prevention procedures and make sluice rooms more sustainable. Trusts can cut costs, reduce carbon emissions, and help clinicians to save time – enabling them to dedicate more time to delivering hands-on care. Traditionally, hospitals have tended
to favour medical pulp macerators over bedpan washer-disinfectors. Macerators shred medical pulp bedpans into tiny pieces and flush them directly into the sewerage system. Once the macerator lid is closed, those single-use bedpans will never be seen again. It’s a ‘flush and forget’ system. The ‘downside’, however, is that hospitals need to purchase and store large amounts of medical pulp. This is why care homes tend to invest in bedpan washer- disinfectors rather than macerators. Care homes simply don’t have the kind of space that hospitals do (although the latter would argue that they too have capacity constraints).
Thermal disinfection Bedpan washer-disinfectors employ thermal disinfection processes that involve high-temperature steam, ensuring the destruction of bacteria, viruses, and other potentially harmful microorganisms. This thorough disinfection is critical in preventing the transmission of infections through contaminated reusable items. Many bedpan washer-disinfectors
are equipped with advanced tracking and monitoring systems. These features provide hospitals and care homes with valuable data on cleaning cycles, temperatures, and disinfection processes. This enables comprehensive traceability, and ensures compliance with infection- control standards. So, bedpan washer-disinfectors
very much have a place in hospitals, even though NHS Trusts tend to prefer macerators. Like care homes, hospitals can benefit from the sustainability benefits offered by reuseable bedpans, commode
DDC Dolphin says advances in bedpan washer- disinfector
technology ‘are helping hospitals improve infection prevention
procedures and make sluice rooms more sustainable’.
June 2024 Health Estate Journal 67
pots, and urine bottles – and the new technology in the latest bedpan washers is making them more popular. Hospitals that have traditionally
eschewed bedpan washer-disinfectors in favour of macerators would be wise to give them a second look and compare their benefits in more detail. After all, both types of machines enable healthcare providers to dispose of human waste safely, hygienically, effectively, and efficiently – helping to stop the transmission of
bacteria, viruses, and fungi, between patients, staff, and hospital visitors. This is especially crucial in the context of
contagious diseases. Timely and effective infection control measures can prevent small outbreaks from becoming large- scale epidemics within healthcare and care home facilities. Today’s new generation of bedpan
washer-disinfectors has been designed very much with sustainability in mind, while building on the infection prevention
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