Preventing the spread of infection from patients and visitors to healthcare workers and back again is a focus for Environmental Service professionals – especially when it comes to cubicle or room changeouts. Although, a study by the University of Manitoba in Winnipeg conducted in 2018 revealed that some 87% of hospital curtains became contaminated with MRSA after 14 days, even when the patients in those bays did not have MRSA.
Recent increases to hygiene protocols and, in many cases, upgrades of health units themselves, has helped to redefine infection prevention. However, it does provoke further debate on whether curtains should be changed out more regularly or cleaned and disinfected, and certainly after a patient has been discharged.
One of the reasons traditional fabric curtains aren’t laundered more often is because the physical process of changing them is laborious and sometimes risky. Staff must sift through inventory to find the right curtain to fit the space, and then climb on ladders or step stools to unhook the soiled curtain before hanging the new one, risking falls.
As well as being a safety risk, the process is time-consuming enough to cause significant bed downtime, which is something all departments want to avoid. And, of course, cost is a whole other factor – curtains are heavy and washing them can be expensive whether the task is done inhouse or at an outside facility.
What really is clean?
The definition of hospital clean can vary from location to location but the general standard is a safe, functional and aesthetically pleasing environment for patients and staff.
The PIDAC: Best Practices for Environmental Cleaning reference guide outlines that cleaning procedures need to apply three distinct objectives; regularity, consistency and correctness. Cleaning physically removes rather than kills germs, dirt, and impurities from surfaces or objects and it is accomplished with water, detergents or soaps and mechanical action. Where as disinfecting, with the use of chemical disinfectants, will kill most disease-causing microorganisms but may not kill all bacterial spores on surfaces or objects.
The key is the use of friction; Thorough cleaning is accomplished with a two-step process involving the use of a cleaner followed by a disinfectant, or through a one-step process using a combined cleaner/disinfectant product. Often detergents and disinfectants are applied with a cloth, tool or equipment, for the most efficient cleaning methods.
Finally, the monitoring and audit testing of practices, procedures, and the surfaces themselves help provide feedback to determine whether the material, supplies, equipment and physical labour are truly effective.
How can hospitals improve curtain hygiene?
Choosing curtain fabrics with antimicrobial qualities is one way to reduce the risk of curtain contamination ‘in between’ changes. This means pathogens that land on the curtain are reduced or eliminated by active compounds within the fabric coating.
Unlike traditional fabric curtains, antimicrobial vinyl cubicle curtains simply don’t require laundering and can be cleaned in place using an approved cleaner and friction tool. This procedure helps maintain the durability of the vinyl fabric and allows it to last longer than a disposable curtain. A low maintenance vinyl privacy curtain system will not only cut down risk to staff safety and the time staff spends cleaning, it will also keep the costs of laundering at a minimum or even zero.
Created from our customers, Belroc’s WipeAble cubicle curtains evolved out of strict infection control protocol requirements from the COVID-19 pandemic to reduce hospital staff strain during increased bed changeouts. Now a norm in many quick-change units, such as the ER and Pre/Post-Op Surgery, this innovative patient privacy curtain system allows you to clean-in-place without removing the curtain at all.
Make curtain changeouts less tedious – contact us now to set up a phone consultation with Dan Lawrenson!
