Good personal hygiene is essential for skin and overall health, but it also significantly impacts maintaining high self-esteem and leading a quality life. But unfortunately, in most cases, being strict with hygiene during sickness is often not advisable. That is when the hospital management system comes into the picture of maintaining patients and infrastructure hygiene. Supporting patients to maintain personal hygiene is a fundamental aspect of nursing care. This post outlines the necessity of bed and mattress sanitizing and washing for the patient’s overall wellbeing. Especially in COVID-19 dominated world where there is a massive strain on hospital resources, mainly with rising bed occupancy levels with the staffing shortage and time limits, it has made it harder to clean the hospital beds with the threat of infection transmission. Ensuring beds stay hygienic and fit for use is a hectic task. But we think there is a solution VDS-BM Washer Disinfector by Weber Hospital Systems, a Dutch company dedicated to change the disinfection industry by delivering innovative infection prevention to protect patients against healthcare-associated infections (HCAI).
Why is hospital bed sanitization so important?
Beds and mattresses are among the most shared equipment found in any hospital, where several patients use one bed at different times. They are also among the most challenging items to keep clean – anyone who has spent enough time working in healthcare can vouch for that! Mattresses are constantly in contact with the patient’s skin, which houses bacteria (some harmless, some less so). A mattress may also be exposed to bodily fluids as a result of open wounds or incontinence. However, with VDS-BM Washer Disinfector, washing, disinfection and drying all in one come handy, validated and without the use of chemical cleaning agents. The VDS-BM Washer Disinfector uses the lowest energy and water consumption. Moreover, it is the only washer-disinfector in the market that uses steam and precision robots. The bed itself is handled by multiple staff each day. From nurses adjusting positioning to porters transporting patients throughout the hospital, each person who comes into contact with a bed increases the risk of cross-contamination, even from the bed surfaces. Since steam cleaning of VDS-BM Washer Disinfector only uses water, you won’t have to use any chemical cleaning agents to create a visually clean, microbe-free environment to disinfect a surface.
According to NICE (National Institute for Health and Care Excellence) 300,000 patients in England develop healthcare-associated infections every year.
Considering that, it is a priority for healthcare workers in hospitals to be on top of infection prevention. These figures only include NHS facilities – where HCAI was found to cost over £1 billion per year – so the accurate scale of the issue across the entire healthcare sector is likely to exceed the initial estimate far. Even with strict handwashing procedures in place, beds and mattresses must be cleaned regularly and thoroughly.
What is HCAI?
HCAI is an acronym for a healthcare-associated infection that includes any infection developing as a direct result of medical intervention, e.g., surgical treatment, or indirectly resulting from being in contact with a healthcare setting, e.g., a hospital or care home. Owing to the prevalence and cost of HCAI, both to patient wellbeing and financially, hospitals strive hard to comply with infection prevention measures. Individual policies may differ slightly depending on the needs of a specific facility. However, all regulations will include guidelines for maintaining reusable equipment such as hospital beds and mattresses.
How are hospitals beds cleaned?
Currently, almost all hospital beds and mattresses in majority part of the world is cleaned by hand. Manual cleaning involves several lengthy processes, including dismantling the bed to wipe all headboards, siderails and other surfaces before carrying out a full mattress decontamination separately. Usually, the contact time for a disinfectant is around 5 minutes. So, the whole process of stripping down a bed, cleaning it, disinfecting the mattress, drying it, and reassembling everything can take 15 minutes or more.
Time for a change?
The Coronavirus pandemic has alerted the need for tighter infection prevention, especially with cleaning medical equipment. Not only do the current processes are time-consuming, but there is also a high risk of cross-contamination, as staff comes into direct contact with each bed while cleaning. Continuing to rely on manual cleaning is both inefficient and higher risk for patients and staff. But what is the alternative?
VDS-BM Washer Disinfector
VDS-BM Washer Disinfector is completely automated bed and mattress washer. Washing, disinfection and drying all in one, validated and without the use of chemical cleaning agents. The VDS-BM Washer Disinfector consumes least amount of energy, water and time in the market as the mechanism employs steam and precision robots for thorough cleaning. Since steam cleaning only uses water to disinfect a surface, there won’t be a need of any chemical cleaning agents to create a visually clean, microbe-free environment.
Following are the few advantages of using VDS-BM Washer Disinfector:
- A clean, disinfected, dry and cool bed and mattress within 6 minutes
- No chemical cleaning agents
- Lowest water & energy consumption in the industry
- Process IPX4 equipment with advanced electronics (e.g., “non-washable beds”)
- Automated mattress handling
- No physical burden on employees
- Smart and intuitive interface with large touchscreen
Most of the hospital beds are non-washable (IPX4) hence cleaning the beds by hand has been the norm. However, as shown in this article, the current system is inefficient and poses a multifaceted risk for patients and staff regarding HCAIs. With the VDS-BM Washer Disinfector, these concerns are eased out in a snap. Not only does it reduce bacteria living on a surface, but it is also by far a more efficient and cost-effective system, a time-saving alternative for staff to concentrate on patient-centered care.
If you would like to find out more about how it works and what we offer to receive, please get in touch with Leader Healthcare on 043263980 or visit the website www.leaderhealthcaregroup.com for more queries about this innovative product and many like such.
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