Carefully considered care home hygiene solutions are essential to the successful running of these complex facilities.
When properly maintained, care homes can be sanctuaries for those who require specialised attention and support. Of course, ensuring the wellbeing of individuals in these facilities encompasses a wide variety of considerations, with hygiene taking a paramount role in safeguarding both residents and staff members. Here at NWR Hygiene Group, we believe that tailored hygiene solutions promote a clean and comfortable environment, and uphold the health and dignity of every individual in care. In today’s blog post, we’ll take a look at what makes these tailored care home hygiene solutions so important, and explore the key areas where such solutions can make a real difference in these complex environments, where every day presents a wealth of competing demands and concerns.
Putting health and safety first
At the heart of every care home is the commitment to the health and safety of its residents.
Elderly individuals and those with disabilities or chronic conditions often have compromised immune systems, which renders them far more susceptible to infections. Because of this, maintaining stringent hygiene standards is absolutely imperative to prevent the spread of illnesses and maintain a healthy living environment.
Of course, maintaining strict hygiene standards doesn’t just protect care home residents, but also safeguards the wellbeing of staff members and visitors, too. So it’s in everyone’s interests to ensure these facilities are carefully maintained.
The first line of defence? Hand hygiene!
Hand hygiene is the undisputed cornerstone of infection control in care homes, as regular hand washing by staff, visitors and residents alike can significantly reduce the circulation of harmful bacteria.
Providing easy access to hand sanitisers and soap dispensers throughout the facility encourages compliance with hand hygiene protocols, and is an important part of ensuring strong hygiene standards. Here at NWR Hygiene Group, we have an extensive range of quality hand hygiene solutions, including:
- Pedal Operated Hand Sanitisers: These nifty, touch-free sanitising stations are an excellent solution for care home hygiene and are particularly suitable for entrances for when staff and visitors enter and exit the facility.
- Hand Sanitiser Stations: These simple sanitising stations can be wall-mounted, freeing up floor space and encouraging regular hand sanitising amongst residents and staff alike.
- Luxury Foam Soap Dispensers: Quality soap dispensers are absolutely essential in the washrooms of every care home, in order to facilitate thorough hand washing after bathroom visits.
Education on proper handwashing techniques also reinforces the importance of this simple yet effective practice. Posters detailing effective handwashing techniques can be used in bathrooms and communal spaces, and short, informative sessions and demonstrations can also be organised in order to ensure everyone knows how to effectively wash their hands.
Floor protection and cleanliness
In a care home setting, floors are not just surfaces to walk on; they are potential breeding grounds for bacteria and viruses.
Spills, accidents, and heavy foot traffic can quickly dirty floors and create hazards, posing a risk to the health of everyone living and working in the facilities, particularly in the case of vulnerable, elderly residents. Implementing effective floor protection measures and promptly cleaning up spills, helps maintain a hygienic environment while minimising the risk of slips and falls, which is a major safeguarding concern for those with mobility issues.
Here at NWR Hygiene Group, we support UK care homes with a range of floor protection solutions, including:
- Dust Control Mats: our standard Dust Control Mats help to manage the daily footfall in your facilities and keep the environment clean and safe. These mats can be produced in a colour of your choice, personalised with business logos to create a warm and strongly branded environment.
- Scraper Plus Mats: created from successive rows of solution-dyed polyamide fibres, our Scraper Plus Mats provide an extra-robust solution for combating floor contamination.
With customisable logos and brand colours, these mats can also be used to represent your brand. For individuals with dementia, dark-coloured mats might be perceived as holes or drops, causing distress and confusion. To create a dementia-friendly environment, we recommend opting for light-coloured branded mats.
Safe sharps disposal
Many residents in care homes may require regular medical care that consists of regular injections and blood glucose monitoring.
Correct disposal of sharps, such as needles and lancets, is absolutely crucial to prevent accidental injuries and potential exposure to bloodborne pathogens. All staff members should be trained on the proper disposal procedures, and sharps disposal containers should be readily available in designated areas, ensuring safe containment and disposal of used sharps to protect everyone living and working within the home.
Here at NWR Hygiene Group, we can provide a range of clinical waste and sharps disposal solutions, such as our Sharps Bin Exchange service which can be scaled to the needs of your facilities.
Effective and responsible waste management
Effective waste management is absolutely essential for maintaining hygiene standards, as well as preventing odours. Care homes generate various types of waste, often on a considerable scale, including clinical waste, sharps, and general refuse. Organising waste at the source and providing clearly labelled bins for different types of waste streamlines the disposal process, ensuring your facilities are kept clean and hygienic, and are compliant with health and safety regulations.
Air care solutions for a clean and fresh atmosphere
Of course, when it comes to maintaining good hygiene standards, it’s not just about tackling visible mess and hazards. It’s also about accounting for hazards that you cannot see, such as airborne diseases.
Environments with poor air quality can act as breeding grounds for bacteria and airborne pathogens, thus increasing the risk of illness among vulnerable residents. Conversely, maintaining a high standard of air quality in your care facilities can help protect against the spread of diseases, thus safeguarding your residents and staff.
Installing the appropriate air care items will help you to improve air quality and mitigate the risks, as well as promoting a more pleasant, odour-free environment for everyone. Here at NWR Hygiene Group, we support care homes with air care solutions, from fragrance diffusers to virus-busting products that eradicate airborne bacteria, creating a safer and more welcoming environment.
Employing cutting-edge technology with BioZone
It would be remiss of us to speak on the importance of air care without mentioning one of the most effective solutions for the proper management of air quality, BioZone.
BioZone is at the cutting-edge of air care technology, and we believe that this product can be a real game-changer in a care home environment. HVAC UV technology in the BioZone product has been scientifically proven to eradicate 99.999% of viruses in less than one second. According to studies, this technology reduces microorganisms in the air by 70%, eliminates the human flu virus, and improves air quality by up to 100%.
This product is an excellent solution to implement within a care home environment, elevating air quality, removing airborne viruses, eradicating odours, and creating a generally safe and comfortable atmosphere.
Upholding dignity and wellbeing
Beyond the importance of physical health, tailored hygiene solutions in care homes also uphold the dignity and overall wellbeing of residents, which should be a key priority of those in charge. An environment that feels clean, tidy, and safe contributes to a general sense of comfort and security, which in turn nurtures a positive experience of life in the home among residents.
Tailoring solutions to unique needs
Each care home has its own set of challenges and requirements based on factors such as resident demographics, facility layout, and available resources. Adopting a carefully tailored and well-considered approach to hygiene solutions is therefore essential to addressing the specific needs of the home effectively. Collaborating with hygiene experts and healthcare professionals is the best way for a care home to identify areas for improvement and put in place bespoke strategies in order to enhance overall hygiene standards.
How can NWR Hygiene Group help?
From promoting hand hygiene to ensuring proper waste management, every aspect of hygiene maintenance contributes to the creation of a safe and comfortable environment for both residents and staff, as well as visitors.
Here at NWR Hygiene Group, we have many years of experience working closely with care homes across the UK to help them meet the complex and nuanced demands faced on a day-to-day basis in every aspect of hygiene management.
Our team can advise and assist your facilities with the supply, installation, and maintenance of a variety of solutions, including:
We understand that it’s easy to overlook the basics when you are running a complex care facility, trying to account for multiple and varied demands whilst making decisions under both bureaucratic and financial pressures.
That’s why we’re committed to working with care home professionals to create streamlined, straightforward, and tailor made solutions, in order to help UK care homes uphold the highest standards of cleanliness and hygiene while preserving the dignity and quality of life of those in care.
Looking for support with care home hygiene services? Get in touch to find out more about how we can help.
