Healthcare cleaning service is one of the most important functions in a hospital. As a multitude of people visits hospitals daily, the area becomes a melting pot of dirt, viruses, and bacteria. These contaminants need to be controlled and prevented from spreading to ensure a healthy environment and prevent hospital-acquired infections. Since there are 2.6 doctors per 1000 patients in the United States, it stands to reason that most hospital traffic is made up of nonmedical people who move in and out of the hospital and need to be protected. Health care cleaning service sets up specific protocols to ensure a clean environment.
Cleaning and Disinfecting of the Hospital Environment
Three main types of cleaning are done depending on the degree of cleanliness and disinfection required to prevent the spread of contaminants. These include general cleaning of equipment and patient’s areas, disinfection or high fidelity cleaning of areas with high bacterial loads, and terminal cleaning.
Routine General Cleaning
Cleaning procedures are divided into cleaning and disinfecting. Cleaning means removing all the visible dirt from objects, surfaces, and spaces, whereas disinfecting is the deeper removal of microscopic infectious particles until most pathogens are dead. Disinfection involves the use of chemicals like hypochlorite/chlorine dioxide solutions that kill viruses and bacteria but are safe enough for people.
Disinfection of Patient’s Use Equipment and High Pathogen Count Areas
Healthcare cleaning service needs to prioritize high pathogen volume areas like ablution areas to be cleaned regularly and often. Visitor’s bathroom facilities should be cleaned and disinfected hourly to prevent the build-up of infectious materials. Cleaners should clean each bathroom area, starting from the cleanest spots to the dirtiest areas. The handwashing sinks and taps should be washed with detergent and disinfected with a hypochlorite solution. Toilets should be disinfected hourly with a hypochlorite solution. Attention should also be paid to the bathroom floors. Cleaning cloths and mop heads should be designated to each bathroom to avoid cross-contamination of infectious material between the separate bathroom facilities.
Terminal Cleaning
Healthcare cleaning service performs the thorough terminal cleaning of the entire hospital or an area within the hospital after an outbreak of infections has been identified. It is also done after a patient has been discharged, and their room is terminally cleaned to be ready to receive another patient.
Healthcare cleaning services are the people who ensure that everyone who visits the hospital stays safe from infection. They need to be trained and given the proper equipment to do their jobs properly and ensure the safety of everyone inside a hospital.
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