Keeping your medical practice safe for the patients that you are working with is the top priority. According to the different researches, it has been found out that in the US, almost 100,000 people die every year from diseases acquired inside the medical practice. And it is a pretty scary thing to see as it is the failure of the traditional cleaning system. To make both your patients and staff safe, there are many things you can do that will improve your medical practice.
Wear Gloves Properly
One of the most common ways of spreading dangerous bacteria in the medical process is the improper use of gloves. Many health protection agencies have recommended different techniques that will help your employees control the contaminants. That starts with assigning different gloves for patient rooms, household tasks. Also, the special gloves that are made for jobs that involve handling heavily soiled items. Doctors must change gloves between taking care of patients. They shouldn’t also be worked in hallways, and they should await change when moving from a residential area to somewhere like the restroom space. Another key thing that will improve the hygiene in your medical practice is having the staff wash their hands right after taking off and putting on gloves.
Always Work from Clean to Dirty Areas
One of the biggest mistakes to commit when cleaning medical practices is that they start from cleaning the dirtiest places and move on to the cleaner areas. By doing that, there are so many more chances that you will spread diseases on the mops and rags. Even if you clean the mops there is still a chance that there is still some left. That is why the golden rule when cleaning medical practices is starting from the rooms of the healthiest patients than making your way down to more contaminated areas. That is another reason why a lot of dental clinic designs are in that order.
Focus on High-Touch Areas
Just like in public restrooms or school ones, every medical practice director should instruct their staff to focus on the surfaces that are touched the most. These are things like phones, bed rails, remote controls in patents rooms as well as all the doorknobs. Since everyone has to tap those things, that means that there are a lot more bacteria on them, therefore it needs to be cleaned more thoroughly.
Limit Air Pollution
There are so many biological hazards stored and used at a medical practice. All of that must be contained in proper trash bags and dispose of them properly. For keeping all the bacteria out of all the airstreams, they recommend that all the biological hazards especially soiled clothes in bins that aren’t linen. Another thing is to tye the trash bags without releasing the excess air from the bags. It will prevent any bacteria from going into the airstream.
Dispose of Contaminated Materials Safely
One of the most crucial things that every health care worker should know is how and where to dispose of soiled surfaces and solutions. When you are dealing with contaminated biological materials, dirty cleaning fluids and soiled linens, you have to ensure there is no chance of contamination during the disposal of them.
Minimise The Chemical Content
When you are using very harsh chemicals, you can risk irritating your parents’ nasal passages or even causing harm to cleaning workers or even your staff. Opt for cleaning supplies that are lower in chemical content. They will still be as effective when cleaning, they are just safer for people to be around it.
Have Inhouse Hand Washing Coaches
Inhouse hand washing coaches are people who will monitor, penalise and reward handwashing behaviour in medical practice. There are a lot of hospitals that track their infection control procedures as well as hand hygiene compliance like this. While some choose to have the basic charts with golden stars and use red cards as penalties, others use a coaching method. That means that they have someone who will correct the staff’s handwashing behaviour in real-time. The direct communication will allow them to be better at washing their hands; therefore, fewer bacteria will be spread.
These are just some of the ways you can help improve hygiene in medical practice. In places as such, hygiene is one of the most crucial things; therefore, it is something that needs to get the most attention.
About the Guest Author
Alison Pearson is an interior design student. She is a writer and designer, but her ultimate passion is design and creation. She is also a bibliophile and her favorite book is “The Sound and the Fury” by William Faulkner. Follow her on Twitter.
