Boost Infection Control With New 100% Natural Flushable Cleansing Wipes
Using unflushable cleansing wipes in care homes and hospitals is a dangerous false economy that puts lives at risk, warns infection control specialist DDC Dolphin. Low-grade wipes that cannot be macerated or flushed will block drains and damage expensive sluice room equipment – leading to machine downtime and a higher risk of infection. Care home and hospital staff have to separate unflushable wipes from maceratable medical pulp. That means more contact and higher infection risks – in the midst of the Covid-19 second wave. Wastewater companies have been urging people not to throw unflushable wipes down the toilet. The wipes can do untold environmental damage and create huge ‘fatbergs’ that block public sewers. A number of wipes manufacturers had claimed their products were flushable. But – until recently – none were. Earlier this year DDC Dolphin launched the UK’s first 100% natural hygiene wipes that could be flushed, macerated or composted – without harming the planet. DDC Dolphin’s Hygenex biodegradable wipes are specially designed for hospitals, care homes and domiciliary care work. They can be disposed of in bedpan washers, macerators, slop hoppers or toilets – without jamming machines or blocking plumbing. The wet and dry wipes contain no plastic. Unlike other patient care wipes, they are manufactured from 100% non-woven cellulosic material to make them eco-friendly. They can be flushed directly into drains because they disintegrate soon after immersion, breaking down naturally into 100% organic, non-toxic substances. The wipes are fully tested and compliant, passing all seven flushability tests set by the: European Disposables and Nonwovens Association (EDANA) International Nonwovens and Disposables Association (INDA). DDC Dolphin Marketing Director Zoe Allen said: “Trying to save a few pennies on a packet of low-grade wipes is a dangerous – and potentially expensive – false economy because you can’t put them into a macerator. “If you do, you risk blocking the machines for hours or even days. That creates a major infection control risk – and unblocking the machine means extra maintenance costs. “Poor quality wipes also risk blocking drains at your property; yet another infection control risk, along with the added cost of clearing the drains.” There was “no excuse for putting lives at risk by penny-pinching” – especially now the government had: added a further £546 million to the Infection Control Fund for care homes made £300 million available to 117 NHS trusts to improve infection control at A&E units. DDC Dolphin’s Hygenex wipes can be used for a wide range of personal hygiene and surface cleaning tasks. Uses include: Poole-based DDC Dolphin manufactures and exports sluice room equipment across the world, safeguarding patients and clinicians from dangerous infections including superbugs. The company manufactures and supplies medical pulp macerators, incontinence product macerators, bedpan washer disinfectors, UV air purifiers, stainless steel furniture and sluice room consumables. DDC Dolphin is one of only three companies in the world specialising in the manufacture of medical pulp macerators. The machines’ hands-free technology makes it safer to dispose of human waste. For more information, please contact DDC Dolphin Marketing Director Zoe Allen, 01202 731555, info@ddcdolphin.com, https://ddcdolphin.co.uk
LST Radiator Experts Create Safer Heating In The Care Sector
In spite of the tight regulations laid down by the Health and Safety Executive, concern is continuing to grow around resident safety in care homes. Some care homes are endangering the safety of the service users by not adhering to strict guidelines around safe surface temperature radiators and pipework. The recommended surface temperature for radiators and pipework is 43°C. Non-compliant homes risk warning notice or even closure by The Care Quality Commissions or The Health and Safety Executive. Under threat of closure and prosecution, many care homes seek the cheapest possible solution covering their often insufficient heaters with budget radiator covers designed for decorative purposes rather than safety. How Contour Can Help Contour Heating supply a range of Low Surface Temperature Steel Radiator Covers, including a DeepClean range. They are designed to last over ten years, relieving pressures on homes to frequently update radiator guards. Contour provides free on-site surveys to get accurate measurements to supply a bespoke solution for your facility. For further protection, Contour Heating partner with BioCote® to include their anti-microbial technologies in their LST radiator guards. The additives in the powder coating have been proven to reduce bacteria on the surface of the radiator by 99.5% in two hours and is 99.99% effective against resistant bacteria such as MRSA and E.Coli. Microbes such as H1N1 influenza virus, Salmonella and Streptococcus faecalis can be found on many surfaces in care homes including radiators. BioCote® inhibits the growth of these bacteria for the lifespan of the LST radiator, reducing the risk of cross-contamination, creating more hygienic spaces and proving a safer and healthier environment for service users and staff alike. Depending on the type of Care Home, Anti-Ligature radiator covers or products may be required to ensure service users environments are safe and secure.
How to manage medication when resources are stretched – care home providers
In a sector where recruiting and retaining permanent staff is an ongoing challenge, Martin Lowthian, compliance expert at The Access Group’s health and social care division, looks at how care home providers can manage medication safely and effectively. Ensuring vulnerable residents receive the correct medication at the right time, all properly documented, must be the top concern for any reputable care provider. But chronic staff shortages in the sector, not to mention copious amounts of paperwork, makes this essential task feel impossible at times – and many managers worry that their home will fall short of the standards expected. Despite the current recruitment and retention crisis, some are putting safeguards in place by taking on 110 per cent of the staff required to provide full coverage, even if someone is off sick. For others, particularly smaller providers and/or those in rural locations, this simply isn’t an option. Instead, they have to assign more tasks to existing employees, adding to the pressures they already face, or else plug the gap with agency workers. It is worth reiterating the problems associated with this way of working. Reliance on agency staff is not only costly, it can also compromise the continuity of care and increase risk. These carers may be experienced and hold the necessary qualifications, yet be unfamiliar with the provider’s values, quality standards and processes. We all hope that recruitment drives, including the government’s Every Day, is Different campaign[1] launched earlier this year, will encourage more people to consider a career in the sector, particularly as the care requirements of an ageing population increases and becomes more complex. However, change won’t happen overnight and more still needs to be done to tackle the root causes of the staffing crisis. Low pay, unsociable hours and perceived lack of career progression remain a barrier for many – which means, for the time being at least, providers have no choice but to work with the resources they have already got. These constraints mean it has never been more important that they develop clear and consistent processes to not only support efficiency and productivity but also compliance, safety and quality of care, without creating an admin burden for already-stretched workers. One solution is to replace manual medication administration records (MARs) with an eMAR system, enabling every authorised staff member – whether permanent or agency – to access residents’ medication requirements and receive prompts about what needs to be administered and when. Any missed doses are recorded with reasons why, providing a strong audit trail to demonstrate compliance. The fact that they integrate with pharmacy systems means care workers can speed up communications, check stock levels and reduce the chances of receiving the wrong medication. Given the current staff shortages, the minutes saved on every shift could add up to make a significant difference to the quality of care delivered. Of course, eMAR is just one example of how digital technology is transforming the care sector. Indeed, some managers have seen time savings of around five to six hours a week using a data-led central platform to automatically allocate staff shifts, deliver handovers, report risks and incidents and communicate care plans securely. This frees them up to concentrate on leading their team, not being bogged down with admin, as well as helping them to prioritise safety and mitigate risk – the hallmarks of an ‘outstanding’ CQC standard.
CareEase – a care management software from Datamatics
The growing demographics, rise in government expenditure in the healthcare sector, increasing aging population, and the need for quality care is driving the market for care management solutions. Care Homes across USA, UK and other developed countries are fast embracing technology to offer quality care services to their residents. Datamatics CareEase is an evidence-based fully automated care management solution offering real-time monitoring of member’s vital health parameters while increasing your operational efficiency by over 80%. What the fully automated care management software enables: Key features: Connect with us by clicking here or drop an email on dhairya.thanawala@datamatics.com
What to look for when you’re taking out Care Home Insurance
Care homes that look after elderly, disabled or other vulnerable people play a vital role in the UK, helping to ensure their residents are safe, secure and well cared for. But it probably won’t come as much of a surprise to learn that care homes also face a wide range of insurance risks that many other private businesses don’t have to deal with, specifically because of what they do and who they care for. That’s why it’s critical that you know exactly what to look for when you’re taking out Care Home Insurance. Many providers will let you bundle together a range of different types of cover to create an insurance policy that’s tailored to your own care home’s specific requirements. These are some of the types of cover you should consider including when you’re taking out Care Home Insurance. Public liability insurance: This type of cover insures the business against the potential risk of a liability claim by a visitor to the care home, such as a relative of a resident or a delivery person. If a visitor slipped on a wet floor and made a claim against the care home for personal injury, for instance, public liability insurance could cover the cost of both court fees and compensation pay-outs. Professional indemnity insurance: If one of the care home’s employees makes a mistake (injuring a resident by lifting them incorrectly, for instance, or giving a resident the wrong medication) there is a risk that the business might face legal action. Professional indemnity insurance can protect the care home in these cases. Legal expenses insurance: If your care home has public liability insurance this should cover the legal expenses you might incur if a member of the public makes a claim, while professional indemnity insurance can cover your legal expenses if an employee makes a serious mistake. But there are other situations where your care home could face legal action, which means this type of additional legal expenses cover might be worth considering. Employers’ liability insurance: It takes a great team to provide a great level of care, but when you employ staff you’re also legally obliged to have employers’ liability insurance in place. This can cover compensation claims and legal bills your business might incur if an employee is injured at work, and the law states you’ll need to have at least £5m worth of employers’ liability insurance in place. Buildings insurance: This will generally only be relevant if your care home owns its own building, but if that does apply to your business it would be a wise decision to protect that valuable asset with suitable buildings insurance. In fact, if you have a mortgage on the property you may find that your mortgage agreement has a clause specifically requiring you to take our buildings insurance. Contents insurance: Many care homes own valuable equipment, electronics and machinery, which is why many decide to take out contents insurance. Some insurance providers are also willing to extend their policies to cover the personal belongings of the care home’s residents, although it’s worth bearing in mind that there’s usually a maximum amount per person for that. This type of insurance cover could prove particularly invaluable given the rise in the number of care homes being burgled in recent years. Fortunately, you don’t have to take out a separate policy for each of these things in order to ensure your care home is properly covered. Quotezone.co.uk has a Care Home Insurance comparison service that enables care home managers to tailor a policy to their specific needs, adding the types of cover they want to include and then comparing quotes from a range of different insurance providers.
