Infection control
Hand hygiene and its role in managing Covid-19
Chris Whieldon, sales director for Teal Patents Ltd., discusses the importance of hand hygiene and how the use of portable sinks has helped the NHS to control the Covid-19 pandemic and support facilities with an approach that could also offer benefits in residential care homes
As we continue to find ways to manage the continuing Covid-19 pandemic it is important that we continue to focus on keeping the habits of effective hand washing. In the early days, it was the main message and it is still the key method of controlling the infection while mask use, social distancing and self-isolation have been widely adopted.
The message has and always will be that regular hand washing with soap and water is the most effective method of preventing it the spread of virus. Making sure that it is effective means taking time to wash all areas of hands. The NHS has been strongly promoting the effective 20-second hand washing procedure with the memorable reminder of singing or humming “Happy Birthday to You” twice. It allows the soap to have time to act and ensure all the areas of the hands are cleaned.
In an article for the BBC, molecular science expert Professor Martin Michaelis of University of Kent, said water on its own is not enough to disable the virus.1 “When you have olive oil on your fingers when you’re cooking, it’s very hard to get rid of it with just water,” he added. “You need soap.” When it comes to the coronavirus, soap is needed in the same way “to remove that lipid envelope so that all the virus is deactivated”. Hand sanitisers are now being used widely and most experts agree that
certain types can be effective if they are alcohol-based but hand washing is the preferred method of good hand hygiene.
Getting hand washing to point of need
It is impossible to understate the challenge that has been undertaken by the NHS, from the early days of isolating Covid-19 cases to tackling the number of infections in ICUs, as well as keeping other wards open and functioning. Teal, a regular NHS supplier, was
Portable sinks can help control infection outbreaks by supporting isolated residents and providing back-up support for existing hand washing facilities as well as being used in rest or reception areas by visitors and staff
January 2021 •
www.thecarehomeenvironment.com
involved in providing portable sink units for the Covid-19 isolation units and throughout this period as the demand grew for support facilities in hospitals, including the Birmingham Nightingale Hospital operation.
The Teal portable hand washing sinks are standalone and can be placed where needed, totally independent of any plumbing that exists in the building or room. They are supplied with their own water containers and separate waste containers that are housed inside the unit. The sink that has been used effectively for the hospitals is the medical-specific product, Mediwash, one of the most popular sinks supplied. It includes an automatic sensor, which starts a pre-programmed hand wash cycle, supported by on-screen instructions that direct the user to follow the NHS hand washing instructions. With an infection outbreak or under conditions of a pandemic, there are significant advantages of having activation by the sensor as it means the
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