Latest News
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| Supporting and enhancing cleaning protocols has produced dramatic results at Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust The implementation of 3M’s Clean-Trace hygiene management has been hailed as a contributory factor in reducing infection rates at Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust. Formed in 2011, the trust has ten community hospitals, 26 mental health wards and two prisons. Looking to standardise cleaning procedures and materials across all sites in a drive to obtain better consistency, the trust’s infection prevention and control team (IPC), lead by Helen Bosley, infection prevention and control matron, ran a successful trial of the Clean-Trace system and has since adopted it across all the trust’s community hospitals. |
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When it’s wet and hot, and hardwearing the tough get going, and when it comes to furniture and fittings that’s not MDF or MFC, that’s for sure. Paul Huggins, managing director of cabinet maker Woodwise, outlines the benefits of a revolutionary new material that is proving to be ideal for healthcare “It’s amazing really that it has taken so long for a really new material to appear in the cabinet making market,” said Paul, pictured. “Sealwise WCB is a new PVC based board that has recently become available in the UK. |
| Schülke has just introduced a new Plus Points Reward scheme for new and existing gigazyme® customers. Members of the scheme are awarded points for every purchase of gigazyme® or gigazyme plus® purchased through either NHSsc or directly from schülke. At the end of each quarter a plus points statement is issued and points can be converted into rewards for the unit or saved for bigger rewards the next quarter. Rewards include a day delegate pass to the IDSC annual conference, a chemical safety storage cabinet 10 record of achievement folders for unit staff and an Interactive Lunch & Learn session about Hand Hygiene awareness. |
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The search for the Hand Hygiene Champion of 2012 has now begun. The awards have been instigated by schülke and aim to recognise and reward hand hygiene initiatives. Julie Storr, Vice President of the IPS has confirmed her involvement on the judging panel and this year will be joined by Rose Gallagher Nurse Adviser for Infection Prevention and Control at the Royal College of Nursing and Annette Jeanes, Director of Infection Prevention and Control at University College London Hospitals ( UCLH) NHS Foundation Trust. The Infection Prevention Society (IPS) commented: ‘we fully support the award and continue to support initiatives that maintain a focus on hand hygiene improvement as a core component of patient safety.’ To enter, tell us in around 250 words why you or your nominee has gone the extra mile to help improve hand hygiene. |
| The new range of hospital taps from Pegler Yorkshire is manufactured using Antimicrobial Copper. The range boasts the Antimicrobial Copper Cu+ mark, which signifies the products are capable of continuously killing pathogenic microbes even between cleans. The first in the UK to launch a product of this type, Pegler Yorkshire’s tap product market manager, Mike Dickinson explains: “The results of research conducted by specialists across the world has shown that the antimicrobial benefits of copper far outweigh any other product on the market. Antimicrobial Copper surfaces are the most effective touch surface, ideal for the healthcare environment where their inherent, continuous ability to kill bacteria will supplement infection control measures.” |
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At RGi we have all the facilities in one location to successfully take the science from the lab to the market. Backed by scientists, our integrated innovation teams have advanced skills in product design and production engineering as well as the creative abilities to deliver practical, scalable innovations. But what distinguishes us from others is our 4000m2 development complex which provides development laboratories, testing areas, in-house tool making and injection moulding, and low volume production facilities. |
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Proven in over 1,000 installations across Europe It is not every day that we see new solutions for the control of Legionella and other harmful bacteria, particularly a revolutionary system like Anodix. Anodix has over ten years of German engineering, development and manufacture behind it resulting in more than one thousand installations across Europe including hospitals, care homes, sports centres, municipalities and other institutions. |
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Based on national best practice throughout, The Royal Bournemouth and Christchurch Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust’s pioneering, new stroke unit, which provides acute and rehabilitation care, includes innovative radiators that give housekeeping staff full access for cleaning without having to call on the services of an estates tradesman. Making cleaning simple To make cleaning a simple and straightforward process at the new, purpose-built stroke unit at the Royal Bournemouth Hospital, the project team |
| decided on the installation of innovative radiators that cleaning staff can easily and safely lower to the floor for full access, enabling them to give usually impossible to reach areas a thorough clean, without having to call on assistance from the estate’s team, while aiding infection prevention. |
| New research has highlighted the potential corrosive damage to medical devices caused by ongoing exposure to chlorine-based disinfectants. This could result in infection risk as well as expense in replacing damaged equipment, according to Synergy Health, which commissioned the laboratory tests. Research findings were presented to clinicians by Sharon King, Senior Product Manager for Synergy Health, at The Infection Prevention Society Conference in September 2011. The study tested the corrosive impact of two market leading hypochlorite cleaning solutions alongside chlorine-free AzoMaxActive™ disinfectant, which contains Byotrol™ technology. An immersion test was undertaken in the laboratory to compare the corrosiveness of the three solutions on a range of test substrates |
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| frequently used in the construction of medical devices, such as hospital bed frames and mattress covers. |
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Quill International is launching Supernova Surface Wipes in a bulk size to help hospitals achieve higher levels of sanitization at a lower price. The high performance Supernova sanitizing wipes have been independently proven effective against 99.9% of bacteria, spores, viruses and fungi including Clostridium difficile, MRSA and Norovirus. The larger tubs hold over 1000 wipes, providing over 1000 applications of long lasting germ protection to surfaces. The ready to use no water formulation provides easy instant germ protection to surfaces, apparatus and equipment. |
| With the in-hospital evaluation phase of the Showcase Hospitals programme now completed, Hospital Bulletin re-visited County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust to check out the results |
| It may be ‘curtain down’ for the in-hospital evaluation phase of the Showcase Hospitals programme - but how did it go? “It’s been a very successful programme, and the reports of the adoption of the various products are very helpful to other trusts,” Dawn Cook, project lead for Showcase Hospitals at County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust, told Hospital Bulletin. “The programme looked at innovation and technology that had a Rapid Review Panel recommendation 1 - which meant that all the research had been completed and that the product ‘does what it says on the tin’. |
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As a world leading supplier of reusable sharps safety devices, Sharpsmart UK has recognised that, whilst it is essential to provide access to safety engineered devices to prevent the risk of injuries from medical sharps, it is also critical to have a well trained and adequately resourced workforce to ensure that systems are used as intended. Sharpsmart’s unique approach to healthcare staff training has resulted in the development of a unique e-learning approach appropriately named the Learning Institute On-Line (LION). Sharpsmart’s reusable sharps collection device is rapidly becoming the system of choice for health care workers and managers across the world. |
| An innovative new door-handle gel dispenser developed in conjunction with NHS specialists promises to help in the fight against health care associated infections (HCAIs) through improved hand hygiene. The Pure Hold Hygiene Handle replaces a conventional pull-door handle with a design that automatically dispenses sanitising gel directly into the hand when the user opens the door. In trials, the Hygiene Handle was shown to improve hand-hygiene compliance rates by up to 700%. Studies have shown that despite the best efforts of infection prevention staff, a high percentage of hospital visitors do not use conventional wall-mounted gel dispensers because they forget or do not understand the importance of good hand hygiene. |
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| Do you ever wonder how many germs thrive on your dictation device? |
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Vienna – Germs have become a growing problem in hospitals worldwide, as they cause disfiguring and life-threatening infections. These bacteria are not only dangerous but also hard to eliminate and may even become multiresistant against antibiotics and disinfectants, experts warn.Concern over infections acquired in clinics has intensified. Healthcare-associated infections (HCAIs) are a |
| major problem for patient safety and cost the NHS an additional £1 billion annually. In the UK at least 5,000 patients die each year as a result of C. difficile, MRSA and other HCAIs – that's more than the total deaths from road traffic accidents. |
| New high-tech dispenser helps raise compliance and improves integration of hand-hygiene into daily clinical practice |
| Sustainably improving hand hygiene in hospitals - with this goal, OPHARDT hygiene introduces its new, trendsetting dispenser system ingo-man Wieco. The dispenser system works with an integrated counter function for the measurement of handhygiene behaviour. When operating the lever, the withdrawal of disinfectant is recorded. The data is then transmitted wirelessly to a central evaluation system. Via the OPHARDT Hygiene Monitoring System software,the usage of disinfectant can be precisely recorded, analysed and archived. In this way compliance in hand hygiene can be determined and potential improvements can be implemented. “The response to our product innovation is definitely very positive. Hygiene experts confirmed the new ingo-man Wieco as a very promising start towards long-term improvement in the hygiene behaviour in hospitals,” says Kristina Ophardt, product manager Hygiene Compliance Solutions. |
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Cutting edge medical research is taking place at Sheffield’s Northern General and Royal Hallamshire hospitals within the fields of oncology, neuroscience, pulmonary hypertension, infection, immunity, diabetes and metabolic bone disease, amongst others. In order to support the work of clinicians, scientists and research trainees a purpose built Biorepository has been established to securely store samples donated by patients and healthy volunteers taking part in clinical research studies. The Biorepository facility is a joint venture between the Sheffield Teaching Hospitals’ NHS Foundation Trust and the University of Sheffield. The purpose built facility at the Northern General Hospital (NGH) site, which is located within the Centre for Biomedical Research, was part |
| funded through a research infrastructure grant from the National Institute of Health Research awarded to the Sheffield Biomedical Research Units in Cardiovascular and Musculoskeletal Medicine. |
| The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) have issued guidance that supports the use of Inditherm patient warming systems for patients undergoing operations which carry a risk of inadvertent hypothermia. Previous NICE clinical guideline CG65 (Inadvertent perioperative hypothermia) recommends active intraoperative warming for all patients undergoing anaesthesia for longer than 30 minutes and for patients at higher risk of hypothermia undergoing anaesthesia for less than 30 minutes. |
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| Electrolux Professional Launches Revolutionary Cleaning Concept It is a well known fact that cleaning methods and products used in hospitals and healthcare establishments are becoming less effective in combating the increasing threat of infections as bacteria becomes more resistant to them. At this year’s Infection Prevention Exhibition (Bournemouth International Centre 19-21 September), Electrolux Professional Laundry Systems will be launching abecs, a unique cleaning concept that controls the spread of bacteria on surfaces and in microfibre cleaning cloths and mops, as well as providing a safer and cleaner working and patient environment. |
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A UK based developer of advanced decontamination technologies, Ebiox has introduced its first hand hygiene product based on sustainable natural ingredients, Natural Esense. Extracted from the pith of Seville Oranges (Citrus Aurantium), Natural Esense is a proprietary formula under the Bioflavonoid Complex classification. Tested extensively to EN1276, EN1500, EN12054, and EN13704 Natural Esense also recently completed testing required for EN12791, a European regulatory standard for surgical hand disinfection rubs. Natural Esense is among the first natural-based antimicrobials to achieve this particular test result. Like Ebiox’s established quat-based Esense Antimicrobial Hand Sanitising spray and foam rub, Natural Esense also has an extremely low toxic effect on the hands, even with persistent use over a busy hospital working week. |
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An educational award of £2,000 has been made to North East Ambulance Service NHS Trust for its winning entry in Deb’s inaugural Hand Hygiene Awards. “We’ve already used part of the award for one of our infection prevention and control representatives to attend the National Ambulance Service Infection Control Network, Infection Prevention Society Ambulance Forum, and I’ll be attending the IPS conference in Bournemouth, in September,” explained |
| Christine McManus, the trust’s infection prevention and control manager, clinical care and patient safety. “The award will also help fund further training and infection prevention and control equipment.” |
| In educational award of £1,000 has been made to Tameside Hospital NHS Foundation Trust as the second place prize in Deb’s inaugural Hand Hygiene Awards. The award is in recognition of the trust’s enthusiastic, multidisciplinary teamwork and successful multi-modal approach to hand hygiene that has seen the organization achieve over 98% compliance since 2007. “Our team are now planning the next stage of the |
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| campaign for 100% compliance with effective hand hygiene of staff, 100% of the time,” explained Josie Dickinson, senior nurse infection prevention and control. |
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Enhancing best practice infection prevention with HPV is helping Arrowe Park Hospital win the battle against C.diff Despite having a number of proven initiatives in place to combat infection, 900-bed Arrowe Park Hospital found that traditional methods were not reducing the number of C. diff spores. “We had a bioburden in the environment,” Andrea Ledgerton, lead nurse infection prevention and control Wirral University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, told Hospital Bulletin . “Microbiological testing identified we had a number of different strains, including the hard to eradicate ribotype 027, which indicated the high level of bioburden. |
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Results show one-step, high level disinfectant and cleaner outperforms other solutions, including traditional chlorine products. About one third of healthcare associated infections can be prevented, within Europe, Ireland has been leading the way to achieving this. New technologies, new procedures and an openness to review these have seen Ireland’s top hospitals turning to one new technology imparticular. |
