Cleanzine: your weekly cleaning and hygiene industry newsletter 18th April 2024 Issue no. 1110
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Bridging the gap between cleaning the environment and infection prevention & control
A new Healthcare Forum is being organised for Wednesday, 16th May, alongside next year's ISSA/Interclean exhibition in Amsterdam. The Forum will address the growing demand for hygienic and disinfecting products and solutions in the healthcare sector - a demand that has been fuelled by the increasing threat of healthcare-associated infections.
The aim of the Forum is to put prevention of healthcare-associated infections and the threat of antibiotic resistance on top of the agenda by facilitating knowledge-sharing and networking amongst decision-makers, key opinion leaders and other parties in the industry.
A decrease in healthcare-associated infections will improve patient safety and reduce the duration of hospital stay. This could save the healthcare sector millions of Euros a year.
The Forum will provide delegates with information on key topics such as the importance of surface cleaning and hand hygiene, antimicrobial stewardship and infection prevention.
The programme will begin with an informative session on the burden of healthcare-associated infections. Education and patient-safety will be addressed in two separate sessions.
The Forum will also host a seminar on cost-effectiveness and the economy of cleaning.
Hereafter the focus will be on the future with a seminar on the newest research and developments.
The programme will finish with the CEO executive session where delegates will learn everything they need to know about cleaning in relation to infection prevention and control.
The Forum will be positioned so it becomes the first step in a process towards a positive change in hospital policies, research and the development of products and solutions.
Spearheading the scientific advisory committee is Professor Didier Pittet, infectious diseases expert and the director of the Infection Control Programme and World Health Organisation (WHO) Collaborating Centre on Patient Safety, University of Geneva Hospitals and Faculty of Medicine, Geneva, Switzerland. Since 2005, Prof Pittet has also been lead adviser of the WHO 'Clean Care is Safer Care' programme currently active in hospitals in more than 180 countries worldwide.
"Healthcare-associated infections are one of the largest causes of deaths worldwide," he notes. "These are preventable deaths. Yet, no healthcare systems can claim to have solved the problem.
"This Forum will be an essential step in increasing awareness on healthcare-associated infections and in addressing the critical role of cleaning in infection prevention and control."
The fruits of the Forum, such as ideas for new products or policies, will be found at the Healthcare Cleaning Island during the exhibition. Information about the Healthcare Cleaning Island will be published in due course.
"The link between the professional cleaning exhibition of ISSA/Interclean and the Forum is the innovative aspect," says Rob den Hertog, director professional cleaning & hygiene, ISSA/Interclean.
"This is where over 1,000 decision-makers in the cleaning industry can come into contact with the offers, thoughts and demands from the healthcare industry."
12th October 2017