Rising to the challenge of infection control

The healthcare sector faces the ongoing challenge of controlling infection within sites such as hospitals, nursing homes and doctor’s surgeries as hygiene standards remain higher than ever post-COVID.

And with both public and private healthcare bodies worldwide under increasing pressure to minimise costs in the face of rising energy bills and global supply chain issues, maintaining impeccable surface cleanliness to protect patients, staff and visitors from infectious disease is today more difficult than ever.

To achieve the delicate balance between budget management and infection control, healthcare building managers and cleaning operators must ensure that systems such as washroom dispensers, spray stations and chemical dispensing solutions are as accurate, efficient and durable as possible.

A significant increase in cleaning frequency post pandemic means dispensers should be able to withstand heavy usage and the impacts common in fast-paced healthcare environments, while accurate dilution ensures surfaces are properly cleaned first time and chemical wastage is minimized.

Meanwhile, with many operators facing uncertainty over how cleaning requirements may change over time, there is a significant benefit to installing modular systems that can be easily extended by connecting additional units.

As well as increased cleaning becoming more common post-COVID, healthcare sites have implemented regular additional disinfection of high touch points such as handrails, door handles, lift buttons and light switches throughout the day.

In order to plan such routines, maintenance and cleaning staff must first identify the high touch points unique to that space, enabling them not only to plan additional cleaning but also to locate hand sanitizer dispensers appropriately and help minimize the spread of infection.

For example, SEKO’s portable automatic hand sanitizer dispensers can be placed close to high touch points such as outside elevator doors or at the foot of staircases to encourage use while reassuring visitors of the site’s commitment to infection control as well as their personal responsibility.

For fast, effective and comprehensive large-area disinfection, an increasing number of operators are turning to fogging systems. Designed for use after thorough cleaning, these systems fill the space with a fine mist of sanitizer at precise droplet sizes from five to 80 microns, removing harmful pathogens anywhere from operating theatres to waiting rooms.

SEKO, a world-leading manufacturer and supplier of cleaning and hygiene equipment, offers a catalogue of trusted infection-control systems including:

Automatic touch-free sanitizer dispensers that deliver a reliably consistent quantity of chemical every time for convenient hand hygiene on demand.

Modular ProMax chemical dilution systems for filling spray bottles, buckets and sinks via a four-product selector dial.

ProTwin low-pressure spray and foam systems that reach awkward areas and avoid the problem of airborne microorganisms caused by some high-pressure units.

Handheld Atomizer systems for fast, comprehensive mist disinfection of enclosed spaces.

SekureMax for safe, lockable storage of up to 5 litres of chemical with a customizable front panel to facilitate product identification.

Excel Series hand towel, soap and toilet paper dispensers to meet the demands of patient, staff and visitor washrooms.

These solutions and more are available now — contact your local SEKO office for more information: www.seko.com/contact.