Three tips on achieving the best care home hygiene
24 Oct 2018
Annually 5,000 deaths happen in the UK because of an antibiotic-resistant bacterial infection. To battle antibiotic resistance, in September 2016 the government set to halve the use of antibiotics by 2021. Unfortunately, not much has been achieved towards this goal to date.
It is better to prevent contagion rather than struggle to treat it when the infection has already set in.
While bacteria continues to develop resistance to antibiotics, they can still be killed off with sanitising products. Minimising the amount of bacteria is essential when especially dangerous ones are going around and residents are not in full health.
If you can prevent infection, you will avoid a situation where a resident is prescribed antibiotics that contribute to bacterial evolution.
Below are three tips on how to improve hygiene.
- Don’t forget visitor hygiene
Visitor hand hygiene is important; while staff may do their best to maintain their own hygiene, visitors will carry external bacteria and viruses into the home. Making sure family and friends are able to sanitise their hands on entering the home is a good idea for restricting external pathogens. Informational posters will help raise awareness on the need to wash hands as well as on how to do so properly.
- Pay attention to mobile phone usage
1 in 6 mobile phones in the UK is contaminated with e. coli. Many of your staff will spend their breaks browsing on their contaminated phone.
While staff will wash their hands before returning to work after a break, the safest option would be to also encourage them to sanitise their phones regularly, so the bacteria does not get a chance to end up on their clothing or on surfaces in the break room.
Don’t forget that many family members use their phone to show the residents photos or video.
Sanitising wipes are a quick and easy way to clean phones and can be offered not only to staff but visitors as well.
- Establish the best hand-drying facilities
If freshly washed hands are left even slightly damp, bacteria will stick to them easily and multiply much faster than on dry skin. You need to look at how your staff are using the hand-drying facilities – if they tend to do a sloppy job, you may need to get more absorbent hand towels or ones that have a more practical dispenser.
Do you need help with hygiene? We can consult you on how to achieve the best results. We can also offer free dispensers to use with soap and hand towels.