INFECTION PREVENTION


of real value to environmental cleaners, and a new tool for infection prevention and control staff. Disappointingly, it provides litle or no value to either group. As a result of this poor guidance, it is the authors’ view that the government can’t be trusted to regulate the cleaning industry. It is therefore time for industry leading bodies to grasp the netle and produce their own standards for training and education of cleaning staff, for testing of surfaces (and possibly air), and disinfecting chemicals / sanitisers in use; in addition to the required bench-top tests. It would also be helpful if the cleaning industry had approved independent laboratories outside the hospital environment that can be used by the rest of the industry. It is now in the reader’s gift to make


a difference. The simple introduction of the flow chart in Fig 1 along with an inexpensive test methodology, means hospital staff can now take control of their own areas of work to monitor cleaning, without relying on an overworked and underfunded infection control team. Poor results can be fed back to facilities management and infection control, helping with potential prevention of outbreaks, early detection of microbial resistance, and therefore early interventions.


References 1


van der Schoor AS, Boyle M, Voor In ‘t Holt AF, Vos MC, Humphreys H; ESCMID Study Group for Nosocomial Infections. Environmental sampling of innate hospital surfaces: a survey of current practices and the need for guidelines. J Hosp Infect. 2022;128:92-95. doi:10.1016/j.jhin.2022.07.024


2 Kemp A, Diggle M. How Do We Clean Up This Mess? – A Review of The Testing Methodologies Used for Detection of Live Bacteria in Healthcare Environments. Am J Biomed Sci Res. 2019;4(4):244- 248 doi:10.34297/AJBSR.2019.04.000808


3 Boone SA, Gerba CP. Significance of fomites in the spread of respiratory and enteric viral disease. Appl Environ Microbiol. 2007; 73(6):1687-1696. doi:10.1128/AEM.02051-06


4 Oter JA, Yezli S, Salkeld JA, French GL. Evidence that contaminated surfaces contribute to the transmission of hospital pathogens and an overview of strategies to address contaminated surfaces in hospital setings. Am J Infect Control. 2013;41(5 Suppl):S6-S11. doi:10.1016/j.ajic.2012.12.004


5 Kemp A, Hanson D. Is There a Measurable Relationship Between Air and Surface Contamination? Study Of Student Classrooms and Sports Facilities at the University of Surrey, UK. Am J Biomed Sci Res. 2026;29(5):780-785. doi:10.34297/ AJBSR.2026.29.003850


6 Kemp A, Hanson D. Proof that there is Fig 1. Recommended testing regime for hospitals and food manufacturing.


a measurable relationship between air and surface contamination. Pathology in Practice 2026 April;27(2);29-34


7 Kemp A, Hodgkinson V, Bugg A. Alcohol gels: More harm than good? Clinical Services Journal 2018 February;17(2):44-46


8 Wand ME, Bock LJ, Bonney LC, Suton JM. Mechanisms of Increased Resistance to Chlorhexidine and Cross-Resistance to Colistin following Exposure of Klebsiella pneumoniae Clinical Isolates to Chlorhexidine. Antimicrob Agents Chemother. 2016;61(1):e01162-16. Published 2016 Dec 27. doi:10.1128/AAC.01162-16


9 Campden BRI Group. Preliminary testing of Freshcheck swab system. (Campden BRI, 2022) www.kersia.uk/content/files/ freshcheck_cbri_summary_document.pdf


10 Kemp A. Antimicrobial Efficacy and Lack of Resistance to Silane Quaternary Compounds. Pathology in Practice 2020


44 WWW.PATHOLOGYINPRACTICE.COM August 2026 April;21(2):23-28.


11 NHS England. National Standards of Healthcare Cleanliness 2025. (NHSE, 2025) www.england.nhs.uk/estates/national- standards-of-healthcare-cleanliness/


Andrew Kemp, JP, PhD, Head of Scientific Advisory Board, British Institute of Cleaning Science, UK Antimicrobial Resistance Ambassador, AMR insights Amsterdam. Denise Hanson FBICSc, Director of Training, British Institute of Cleaning Science, Moulton Park, Northampton UK.


This research was funded entirely by the British Institute of Cleaning Science (BICSc) and the Cleaning and Support Services Association (CSSA) with products and services provided for free by the relevant parties. At the time of publication there are no conflicts of interest.


British Institute of Cleaning Science www.bics.org.uk


Too much cleaning chemical


Clean cloth, clean water,


re-wipe surface


Multiple air samples, 20cm above the surface


Determine the area of highest


contamination based on 10.1 ratio 0.5 to 1 micron


Run FreshCheck test on highest contamination surface


Clean


Warn/Fail


Particles < 2,520?


Particles > 2,520?


PPi


Re-test after 1 hour


Re-test in 24 hours


Swab 20cm2


surface area for culture or PCR


Clean cloth, clean water,


re-wipe surface


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