It’s been two long years since we first heard news coming out of Wuhan, China, about a new virus – though it undoubtedly feels even longer for our healthcare professionals, who have been on the front lines of a warzone ever since.
The importance of infection control in healthcare settings has been brought more sharply into focus than ever before – and as a result, procedures that were simply a bit tiresome before the pandemic, have become completely unsustainable.
Privacy curtain changes are one of these procedures. For decades, clinical staff have muddled along with conventional curtains, doing their best to change them regularly while juggling countless other responsibilities, and even putting their own health at risk by balancing on ladders and carrying heavy fabric.
But the need for robust, transparent policies on curtain hygiene, coupled with intensive staffing pressures and the omnipresent threat of disease, means that this outdated task isn’t just annoying any more – it’s just plain impossible.
Hospitals know they can’t leave privacy curtain changes to chance – they need to make sure these are performed frequently. And busy departments can’t afford to have their staff wasting precious time on curtain changes, or having beds out of commission because there’s nobody to switch a curtain. It’s long past time for a change.
Belroc’s InstaSwap curtain system offers a smart, convenient solution to all the problems posed by conventional patient curtains, helping healthcare environments to eliminate a key source of infection, without placing undue burden on their staff.
So how does it work?
Safety
Around a quarter of all workplace injuries are caused by slips, trips and falls – and the risks increase when personnel are working at height. In order to change a conventional hospital curtain, staff must stand on a ladder or step stool, which increases the risk that they’ll take a tumble and injure themselves, or even someone else. Unhooking a curtain that’s hanging from the ceiling above their head also puts your staff at risk of muscular and repetitive strain injuries that are a major source of absenteeism.
InstaSwap curtains make it possible to remove and replace a soiled curtain panel without climbing or reaching too high. A customized length of mesh tops the panel, attaching at head height using heavy duty snap fasteners, so your staff can simply tear off the old curtain, and snap on a new one.
Simplicity
Switching to InstaSwap’s standardized curtain system makes inventory simpler throughout the entire building. Especially valuable in mixed development sites, the combination of top mesh and curtain panels means the same curtains will fit everywhere and anywhere – the top mesh is customized to the ceiling height and remains in place without the need for regular laundering. When it’s time to change a curtain, there’s no more hunting around for the right one to fit, because they all fit! As an added bonus, this also means overstock can be decreased and still easily meet your week-to-week hygiene requirements.
Speed
For both of the reasons mentioned above, InstaSwap can drastically alleviate the amount of time lost to curtain changes. Belroc’s own research shows that changeout times can be reduced by around 30% when using InstaSwap – that’s valuable time your staff could be using towards other additional infection control measures. And as well as freeing staff up to get on with other tasks, faster curtain changeouts means faster cubicle turnarounds, which means shorter waiting times for patients – a major plus during times of peak demand for services.
To find out more about Belroc’s InstaSwap system or for a no-obligation quote, contact Dan Lawrenson – [email protected].
