Adapting cleaning and IPC for residential and social care

Care homes, hospices, community clinics and district nursing come with unique infection control challenges that frequently limit the product available and their scope for use. However social care requires a high level of infection control. As previously discussed, Government data shows that up to 43% of CDI cases were community acquired.  There is a clear need for improvement.

Challenges

Whilst we all have a range of cleaning products for different jobs, the formulations of the products are all very similar. If you look at the ingredients it’ll say aqua, <5% anionic surfactants (usually SDBS) and possibly a quaternary ammonium compounds (QACs). Whilst these products are reasonably cheap per litre, when you’ve got multiple different products these costs add up quickly.

A single ready-to-use product can push this even further, often coming in at over £1 per litre. Additionally, there is a significant administrative burden to consider with COSHH and risk assessments for each product. 

Solutions

In an environment where comfort is a key priority, it’s vital that a disinfectant is compatible with soft furnishings. Traditional disinfectants such as chlorine cause significant damage and costly replacements, and QACs are not effective against spores. However, an alternative is now available in the form of Peracide, an in situ peracetic acid disinfectant with neutral pH that’s highly effective against C. difficile spores and contains surfactant so you’ll get an excellent clean and disinfect in 1 process, suitable for use on all surfaces, furnishings and equipment. Contact Sky Chemicals on info@skychemicals.co.uk or 01142 780 222 to discuss!