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Next generation macerator will help advance infection prevention in hospitals around the globe
With Envirodri, hospitals need not be patient
Breakthrough in infection control Royal Solutions has launched a new product, tested to European standards, which, it says, is as effective against C. difficile and safer to the user and the environment than the chlorine based products currently recommended for use for infection control. Sanitor Plus is effective against MRSA (tested to BS EN 1276) and the notoriously difficult C. dif spores (tested to BS EN 13704). It's in the bag: experience ensures economy and efficiency As a member of the Sanitary Medical Disposal Services Association, Cromwell Polythene has been working with clinical waste professionals in the healthcare industry since the 1980s, to provide top specification and economical solutions. Antibak breakthrough delivers major boost for healthcare infection control Hospitals across the UK are winning the battle against killer bugs following a breakthrough in pathogen eradication. The launch of Chemex cleaning product AntiBak - said to be powerful enough to kill Clostridium difficile spores - has given the NHS a powerful weapon to combat the full range of superbugs. Purazone is the revolutionary UVC system that destroys more than 99% of all airborne viruses & bacteria, which is proving a real hit in the healthcare sector. New Health & Hygiene accreditation scheme declared open
Management of Healthcare Associated Infections: a 12-week course
Healthcare disinfectant protects against AIDS virus
Don’t buy badly and thus buy twice
Hospitals warned over disinfectant strength Hospitals are being warned to ensure that their cleaners do not to over-dilute cleaning chemicals, following the publication of a US study in the journal Microbiology, which underlines the findings of previous studies that deadly bugs which survive contact with disinfectant can become harder to kill. They do this by evolving new defences which effectively enable them to 'pump' the cleaning chemicals and antibiotics out of their systems, much as humans build up a resistance to a particular disease when we have been innoculated through injection of a very small volume of the disease itself. NHS Choices To rate your hospital experience, see www.nhs.uk Karachi's Civil Hospital a breeding ground for germs
Proventec Healthcare supports RCN 3rd Annual joint conference and exhibition on Health Care Associated Infections
This occasion marked the division's first conference and exhibition under the newly launched name. Crothall First in Healthcare to Achieve CIMS Certification Crothall Services Group, of Pennsylvania, US, has completed the requirements for the Cleaning Industry Management Standard certification programme, and says it is the first company dedicated exclusively to healthcare support services to receive the certification from ISSA. In addition, ISSA has granted Crothall the certification with honours. Groundbreaking product kills hospital infection
Ecolab introduces new hospital programme to improve hygiene in patient rooms
Hospital grade antimicrobial proven inert to steel BioNeutral Group announced today independent steel corrosion test results conducted at Criterion Chemical. Following an impartial blind testing protocol, Ygiene hospital grade antimicrobial was found to be completely non-corrosive to steel. Easy clean porter's chair helps prevent spread of infection
NHS Supply Chain provides free SaniPost hand sanitiser stations to NHS trusts
SaniPost stations are free to use, automatic hand cleaning units to help hospitals with their infection control. They dispense sanitiser via a sensor-operated device when hands are placed inside. This negates the risk of cross-infection as no surface needs to be touched, something vital in hospitals for staff, patients and visitors alike. Xenex Healthcare announces new disinfection system for healthcare facilities Jonmaster & Taski Trolley offer sustainable healthcare cleaning |
Accusations that the Government's recent National Health Service hospital deep clean programme was simply a political stunt have come from many sources, but now claims are being made that the hospitals did not even use products recommended by the Health Protection Agency to fight the bugs such as MRSA and Clostridium difficile during the deep clean that was, effectively, put in place to combat them.
Just 9% of Trusts complied with all the HPA guidelines on deep clean.  These figures show that there is a great deal of misconception about how to tackle the problem of keeping our hospitals and other buildings in the healthcare sector clean and hygienic and ensuring that they are places of healing - something that is underlined by the fact that over 30% of NHS Trusts have already breached the target of a 50% reduction in MRSA bacteraemia. "Eradicating avoidable healthcare infections has to be an all or nothing affair; there can be no halfway house," says charity MRSA Action UK, which recently paid tribute at Westminster Abbey "to the 50,000 who have died and the many hundreds of thousands who have suffered from MRSA since 1997". We agree that the halfway house is not an option, but how do we move on?  Making Health Care Cleaning Hygienic Facilities throughout the world are becoming increasingly concerned that the cleaning performed in their facilities is not just clean, but hygienically clean. By this they mean that cleaning procedures and systems have been implemented to protect the health of building occupants. This is of great concern in medical facilities. Both staff and patients want to feel safe from the possibility of contracting a disease when working in a healthcare centre or receiving treatment there. But are they safe? According to a survey by the American Nurses Association, more than a third of the respondents indicated they do not feel secure in US healthcare facilities and are concerned about being infected with a hospital acquired disease, often the result of poor cleaning. Matron numbers doubled and given more powers designed to improve cleaning There are now more than 5,000 modern matrons working in the National Health Service to drive up standards of cleanliness and care. Figures released by the Department of Health show that there are 5,538 modern matrons in post. From this month, primary care, mental health, care and ambulance NHS trusts across England and Wales have committed themselves to promoting hand hygiene to all healthcare workers. US: Medline launches nationwide hand hygiene compliance programme for healthcare facilities
Against this depressing background, Weston Area Health NHS Trust commenced a 60-day trial of steam cleaning on the wards of Weston General hospital using Steam & Vac Pro machines from OspreyDeepclean. US nationwide progress poll reveals increased efforts by hospitals to control MRSA... but there's still room for improvement More than three out of four (76%) US infection prevention and control professionals polled, indicated that they have implemented additional measures to prevent the transmission of MRSA in the last year, but 54% said their institutions are not doing as much as they could and should be doing to prevent the spread of this virulent pathogen, according to an online survey conducted by the Association for Professionals in Infection Control & Epidemiology. NHS seeks new technology to beat hospital bugs Cleaning businesses which have products or technologies that could help prevent the spread of MRSA or similar infections are being asked to come forward to take part in a new NHS programme. MRSA down; C. difficile up
Pests in Hospitals; the Patients Association's view Commenting on the Conservative Party's Freedom of Information request into pest controls in hospitals, the Patients Association said: "Such findings are truly revolting. How can patients be safe amid bed bugs, fleas and rats? Once again safety is just rhetoric and not a reality for patients, particularly the elderly and those with suppressed immunity. Organisations must take responsibility for HCAIs warns RCN The Royal College of Nursing has called for organisations and management as well as individuals to take responsibility for the management of healthcare associated infections. The College warned that concentrating on issues such as hand washing alone will not address the situation and called on the Government to invest in more infection control nurses. Benefits of NHS deep cleans "in danger of being lost," reveals CSSA's snapshot poll of cleaners Four months after the end of the Government's £57 million Deep Clean programme, a snapshot poll of cleaners by the Cleaning & Support Services Association indicates that the deep cleans are in danger of being a waste of money. Irish pressure group calls for more honest recording of hospital acquired infections worldwide
'Match.com' for NHS and suppliers launched An online advertising service that will help 'hook up' NHS providers with healthcare suppliers has been announced. The new website, NHS Supply2Health will make it easier for Primary Care Trust commissioners to advertise health and social care services they require and for suppliers to identify business opportunities within the NHS. Auditor-General criticises Ontario hospitals over C.difficile casualties Jim McCarter, Auditor-General for Ontario, Canada, has criticised poor housekeeping and hand hygiene in the province's hospitals, saying they were instrumental in the spread of the recent C.difficile epidemic, during which 75 patients died because of the bug at one facility alone. Senior charge nurses throughout Scotland will in future have the same responsibility for ward hygiene as matrons used to have. Their new responsibilities - set in the context of a 21st century environment - will be critical in enforcing vital hygiene standards, and helping to tackle healthcare associated infections as one part of their expanded leadership role. Suing hospitals for damages just got easier with the US Joint Commission's release of the compendium on combating healthcare-acquired infections. Dr. Betsy McCaughey, Founder/Chairman of the Committee to Reduce Infection Deaths and a former Lieutenant Governor of New York State, says: "It adds to the growing evidence that infections are preventable when hospitals adhere to proven best practices. Hospital infection is the next asbestos, the next major cause of class action lawsuits, and the compendium will be the trial lawyer's bible." UK Clostridium difficile infections fall significantly
The latest C. difficile figures for England show that between April and June 2008 there were 8,683 cases recorded in patients aged 65 years and over. This represents a fall of 18% in this age group from the previous quarter, January to March 2008, when the total was 10,608. This also represents a fall of 38% from the same quarter in 2007 when 13,924 cases were recorded in patients aged 65 years and over between April and June. Report shows high C.difficile infection rates in US hospitals The Consumers Union called on hospitals on Tuesday to take more aggressive steps to protect patients from Clostridium difficile infections in light of a new report showing that they are much more common than previous estimates had indicated. As the rate of hospital acquired C.difficile infections has jumped in recent years, an increasing number of patients have developed antibiotic-resistant strains of the infection that are more difficult to treat and more deadly. Scotland's hospitals to be subjected to random cleaning and hygiene inspections Health Secretary Nicola Sturgeon said that every hospital in the country would be subject to random inspections to ensure the highest possible standards of infection prevention and control and environmental cleanliness are adhered to. APIC accused of covering up extent and causes of C. difficile in US The Committee to Reduce Infection Deaths has accused the Association for Professionals in Infection Control, of covering up the extent and causes of C. difficile in the US, (see 'Report shows high C.difficile infection rates in US hospitals' in last week's Cleanzine. If you missed it, Click here to read). The number of patients in the EU with at least one hospital-acquired infection is estimated at 4.1 million patients - equivalent to one-in-20 hospitalised patients. These infections are often difficult to treat due to antimicrobial resistance of the micro-organisms causing them, and with the increasing mobility of populations within and between healthcare systems and the freedom in the European Union to seek medical treatment outside the country of residence, resistant micro-organisms can rapidly spread between countries. C. Difficile infections: NHS on track to achieve annual reduction of 30% by 2010/11
There were 8,947 C. difficile infections in in England between July and September 2008. This represents a 33% reduction compared to the same quarter last year and a 35.5% reduction compared to the average quarter in 2007/08. The figures show a drop in C. difficile cases across all age groups for July to September 2008. New study shows infectious bacteria growing in 98% of hospital baths Hospital patients may be opening themselves up to infection as a result of bathing practices applied in hospitals. According to a study published in the January 2009 American Journal of Critical Care, baths are a significant source for the transmission of hospital acquired infections, especially to patients that are immune-compromised and those at high-risk. It is estimated that 1.75 million to 3.5 million patients admitted to US hospitals, or 5 to 10% of all patients, contract nosocomial or HAIs leading to approximately 100,000 deaths annually. Technology the next front in battle against healthcare associated infections The fight against Healthcare Associated Infections must continue on all fronts, Health Minister, Ann Keen told NHS staff today as she toured an exhibition showcasing that latest high tech products designed to beat infections such as MRSA and C.difficile. Recognition for new technologies put to work in the fight against healthcare infections
The awards have been created to highlight and celebrate innovation and success within the field of HCAI related technology and technological developments. They recognise that new and innovative technologies are helping to save lives and making it easier for doctors and nurses to fight infection. Study shows effectiveness of new hand hygiene compliance system Poor hospital hygiene blamed for Danish deaths
Commenting on the importance of addressing infections in Scottish hospitals, the Scottish Health Secretary, Nicola Sturgeon, said: "Tackling healthcare-associated infections is my top priority because it is vital that the public have confidence in the care they will receive if they need hospital treatment. Steam cleaning is a particularly effective way of cleaning areas affected by Clostridium difficile and substantially increasing the number of steam cleaners available to the NHS will ensure they are available locally when needed." High-tech way to track hand hygiene The University of Iowa has created a low-cost, green technology to track the use of hand hygiene dispensers used by healthcare workers. Epidemiologists and computer scientists collaborated to develop a novel method of monitoring hand hygiene compliance, which is essential for infection control in hospitals. Infection Control specialists team up for hospital infections TV documentary
Steam decontamination equipment manufacturer OspreyDeepclean teamed with healthcare cleaning specialist CK Group for a long day's filming and interviews for the documentary that airs Thursday 23rd July on Sky channel 166 7:30pm, with a simultaneous broadcast on NHS247 where it will play for 12 months. The documentary seeks to educate and inform both NHS staff as well as members of the public as to what measures are being put in place to help combat Healthcare Associated Infections (HCAIs). New public sector NVQ for hospital staff A total of 53 staff employed by facilities firm OCS at Lymington New Forest Hospital have been awarded their NVQ level 2 in customer service, including teamwork, health and safety and equality and diversity through The Public Sector Skills Framework (PSSF). UK's first permanent hospital decontamination cleaning unit up and running Naming and shaming improves hospital hand hygiene 300% Hospitals and care homes need to improve communication to prevent infections The Care Quality Commission has set out its concerns around the lack of communication between care homes and hospitals in preventing infections passing between these two settings. The CQC found that there was a need for hospitals and care homes to provide information about infections to each other to make sure that people with, or recovering from, an infection are cared for properly and to reduce the chances of other people being infected. CSSA tells NHS "We can help", following Care Quality Commission's latest report Department of Health Conference
St Francis Private Hospital, a 140-bed facility located in Mullingar, County Westmeath, and its associated nursing home, St Clair’s, made the decision after examining the compelling evidence from the clinical trial at Selly Oak Hospital, Birmingham, which showed that copper surfaces such as taps, toilet seats and door pushplates can reduce microbial contamination by 90-100%. Hospitals install 'gold standard' laundry system as OTEX achieves top NHS status
"We applaud the UK government health officials for their transparency and openness in demanding MRSA and C. difficile reporting on a weekly basis and also demanding MRSA screening," says Jeanine Thomas, Founder of MRSA Survivors Network. NHS’s ancillary staff are most at risk from cuts Data gathered by the Royal College of Nursing has revealed that the NHS’s ancillary staff are most at risk from cost cutting exercises. 
Working in partnership: CK Group helps raise level of hygiene at West London Mental Health NHS Trust - Extracts from the Report of the findings from the follow-up visit by the Care Quality Commission in March 2010
In addition to driving improvements and to acting swiftly to remedy bad practice, the CQC also has as one of its aims the 'gathering and using of knowledge and expertise, and working with others.' Nowhere is this approach of working with others better exemplified that at the West London Mental Health NHS Trust where cleaning and hygiene specialists CK Group were called in to supply not only their Infection Control expertise, but also its recommended cleaning products and qualified and experienced staff. Dr. Betsy McCaughey, Founder/Chairman of the Committee to Reduce Infection Deaths (RID) says that "The 2009 New York State Department of Health’s Hospital Acquired Infections Report (released yesterday) shows that mandatory disclosure saves lives by making hospitals work harder to prevent infections. Statewide, rates decreased for nearly every type of infection measured. None increased." The Committee to Reduce Infection Deaths urges New York State to include Clostridium difficile, commonly known as C.diff, in future reports and pilot prevention programmes. This type of infection is raging through hospitals and may now be the most common hospital infection. The first line of defence is rigorous cleaning.
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Clostridium difficile
- a dangerous and formidable foe By: Peter J Sheldon, Vice President of Operations for Coverall Cleaning Concepts Clostridium difficile is a frequently nosocomially transmitted bacteria causing illness and even death in many residential health, long term care and hospital environments around the world today. The source of the bacterial illness is fecal spores from the waste of patients that are on antibiotic medication.  Association of Healthcare Cleaning Professionals
Sodexo's Hillingdon hospital staff set to sit Level 2 NVQ in Cleaning & Support Services
A right Royal success
iDCS cleans up in a hurry
Hospitals in Victoria, Australia, to start screening patients for MRSA All 76 public hospitals in the State of Victoria, Australia, will need to provide public reporting of Healthcare Associated Infections by the end of 2009, if they are to comply with the rollout of the 5-year 'Start Clean' Infection Control Strategy introduced in 2007. To maintain compliance, Victoria has selected Cepheid's GeneXpert System and Xpert MRSA test for the screening of high risk patients in up to 11 hospitals. Bedford Hospital abandons plastic in pursuing gold standard for infection control
LCC pioneers new BICSc Healthcare certificate LCC Support services tells us was the first organisation to accept the challenge to train its management for the new British Institute of Cleaning Science's Healthcare Professional Cleaning Certificate. Leading healthcare system decreases MRSA infection rate by 53%
Jonmaster and OCS join forces to combat infection at Ipswich Hospital
The Trust was "looking for a cleaning solution that would provide improved cleaning performance and make it easier to eliminate and prevent hospital associated infections." A trial of microfibre systems from a range of companies and manufacturers was undertaken by the Trust. Hospital staff were asked to evaluate the systems and the Ecolab Healthguard microfibre system was chosen on the basis of ease of use, cost effectiveness, aesthetics, reduction in the use of chemicals, infection control benefits and laundering of the system. Just what the doctor ordered!
Recognising success in healthcare cleaning
New cleaning regimes improve prognosis for a Kent hospital Trust A Kent hospital that was at the centre of an investigation in 2007, following the deaths of an estimated 120 patients from C.difficile, has made "substantial improvements", according to a report issued by the Healthcare Commission last Friday. The report says that the Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust must maintain momentum and make further improvements. OCS sets higher standards with healthcare contract win
Outpatient infection rates cleverly controlled Cancer treatment leaves patients with weakened immune systems... So it would seem obvious that an outpatient cancer clinic would be a prime breeding ground for infections because of the constantly revolving door of patients, visitors and staff, all of whom could be exposed to bacteria and viruses at home or in the community. After all, infections are among the most common causes of illness and death among cancer patients. Nine million reasons why ‘green means clean’ Infection prevention success at Shrewsbury Renal Unit
 Royal Shrewsbury Hospital’s Renal Unit has reported excellent results in infection prevention and the unit's manager Sister Nonny Stockdale believes that a novel air disinfection device has contributed to this success. more Hired instrument helps hospitals check swine flu safety masks
Advanced air disinfection technology to fight hospital Norovirus
Proventec Healthcare wins NHS Supply Chain Framework Agreement for manual cleaning and associated janitorial products
GV Health wins NHS Supply Chain framework agreement for spill kits
Key London hospital awards microfibre contract to Vikan
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This month the Royal Institute of Public Health launches a new accreditation scheme designed to endorse products that support health, hygiene and safety. This new scheme will enable people to see at a glance whether the hygiene claims made for everyday products are fact or fiction. 
A prototype new 'easy clean' porter's chair - part of the Design Bugs Out Challenge - was a popular attraction at Vernacare UK's stand at this year's Infection Prevention Society Conference.
NHS trusts will find it easier and more efficient to fight infections as NHS Supply Chain offers SaniPost hand sanitiser stations to hospitals across England and Wales for free.
In an effort to spark a change in healthcare professional hand hygiene practices in the US, Medline Industries used last month's 35th Annual Association for Professionals in Infection Control & Epidemiology Educational Conference, to announce the nationwide launch of its Hand Hygiene Compliance Programme to hospitals and healthcare facilities. 
It sometimes seems that there are not that many good stories coming out of the UK healthcare sector these days, with one national media announcement following another, of 'failing' hospitals, and lethal outbreaks of C. Difficile. 
There was good news and bad news last Thursday when the UK's Health Protection Agency published its latest quarterly figures on MRSA bloodstream infections and C. difficile infections. These relate to the January to March 2008 period, the final quarter in the 2007/2008 financial calendar - providing annual figures for both infections - and show that while we seem to be getting to grips with MRSA, we are finding c. difficile harder to tackle successfully 
Figures indicate that Ireland has one of the highest MRSA infection rates in the world. But newly-formed group SIN, (Stop Infection Now) believes the figures are even higher than is claimed. It says more thorough records regarding HAIs are needed, together with legislation to enforce hospital hygiene standards if hospital-acquired infections are to be reduced. To back up its claims, it is conducting research that will show the full picture and it has formed links with similar organisations in other parts of the world. 
The quarterly figures for April to June 2008 regarding Clostridium difficile infections were published by the UK's Health Protection Agency at 11.00 am today - and it's good news. 
C. difficile infections are continuing to fall, the latest quarterly statistics from the Health Protection Agency (HPA) showed today. 
New technologies for use by the NHS to help combat healthcare associated infections (HCAIs) such as MRSA and C. difficile won praise and recognition last week at the first HCAI Technology Innovation Programme Awards. 
Proventec plc, the provider of specialist cleaning and coatings technologies, reports that it has received a substantial order from the Scottish NHS for its specialist OspreyDeepclean Dry Steam Vapour decontamination machines. 
"Tackling MRSA and other hospital related infections" is one of a series of documentaries to be aired via Sky TV and simultaneously broadcast on the NHS TV web site. 
Cleaners, caterers, porters and housekeepers at a Hampshire hospital have been the first to gain from a new training programme aimed at raising skills in public services, which we announced in Cleanzine in June. 
A healthcare cleaning company has launched what it believes is the UK's first permanent decontamination cleaning unit, at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Woolwich, London.
In a presumably sterile environment such as a hospital, diligence of staff washing their hands when moving from patient to patient can easily be taken for granted. Yet, according to The Joint Commission, handwashing failures contribute to healthcare-associated infections that kill nearly 100,000 Americans each year and cost U.S. hospitals $4 billion to $29 billion annually to combat.
An Irish hospital is thought to be the the first in the world to specify hygienic copper door handles throughout in a bid to reduce healthcare associated infections such as MRSA.
MRSA Survivors Network with MRSA survivors, family members and other victims of healthcare-acquired infections will unite across the globe and on World MRSA Day, October 2nd, 2010, in a grassroots movement to raise awareness and push for more mandated reporting of infections, MRSA screening laws, funds to raise awareness and educate the public on prevention, which will save lives.
The Care Quality Commission is the independent regulator of health care and adult social care services in England. 
Working in partnership with Ipswich Hospital NHS Trust, service provider OCS has introduced the Jonmaster ultra microfibre trolley system for cleaning all wards, clinics and other areas as part of a wider strategy to control infections. 
Healthguard, Ecolab's microfibre system has recently been chosen for use by the East Lancashire Hospital Trust, which covers a population of 520,000 people across East Lancashire. 
