Medical health facilities need to be kept clean at all times. Counterintuitively, you can easily contract diseases in a hospital faster than in a public park. High patient concentrations in one place make medical health facilities a potential health hazard.
Cleaners usually overlook some details when cleaning and disinfecting surfaces, increasing the risk of cross-infections; cleaning mistakes put the patients and staff at imminent risk of disease outbreaks.
In this article, we will discuss some of the common cleaning mistakes you should avoid when cleaning a health facility in order to reduce the risk of spreading diseases.
Using the Wrong Cleaning Products
Most surfaces in a health facility are prime infection hotspots. Inherently, it would be best to use stronger cleaning agents different from those used in domestic settings.
Using the wrong products not only makes the cleaning ineffective, but also puts the patients and staff at risk of cross-contamination.
Nevertheless, strong cleaning agents may also pose a health risk if used in the wrong way. Applying too much bleach may cause respiratory discomfort while using concentrated acid-based cleaners mainly damage the surfaces.
Thus, cleaners should follow the manufacturer’s guidelines when using strong cleaning agents like concentrated bleach.
Improper Cleaning Procedures
Cleaning will prove to be a challenging task if the cleaners do not understand the cleaning procedure.
Primarily, disinfecting surfaces should be done once the cleaning is done; most disinfectants are not very effective on dirty surfaces. As such, disinfecting surfaces before cleaning gets rid of a fraction of bacteria.
Therefore, bacteria hotspots such as hospital floors should be cleaned first before disinfecting in order to kill most of the pathogens.
Inadequate Cleaning Protocols
Cleaning a health facility requires adequate supervision to ensure all the surfaces are properly cleaned and disinfected.
Ideally, some cleaners may overlook cleaning other areas that appears clean on the surface. However, the overlooked areas turn into infection hotspots and harbor multiple disease-causing bacteria.
Most health facilities contract professional commercial cleaning companies to carry out the cleaning tasks like washing and disinfecting.
Getting external commercial cleaning services Michigan allows you to inspect and confirm that every area is cleaned; providing your commercial cleaners with a cleaning checklist makes it more convenient for you during snagging.
Disregarding Feedback
Patients and hospital staff have firsthand interaction with most of the hospital surfaces and facilities like washrooms.
Patients are in a better position to identify high-risk areas. Hence, a patient’s information regarding the hygiene levels of the health facility is crucial.
Overlooking feedback from patients and staff members is not only unprofessional, but also increases the chances of disease outbreaks in the health facility.
Therefore, the best approach is to have the patients’ and staff’s feedback properly documented and included in the facility’s cleaning protocols.
Wrong Waste Disposal Methods
Waste management in a health facility is completely different than in an office setting. Most of the waste products in a health facility is biohazardous.
Biohazardous waste (like used needles) can spread diseases and infections easily.
In general, all biohazardous waste must be treated before disposal. Additionally, medical waste should be properly managed to avoid environmental pollution; most of the medical waste is incinerated in a controlled kiln under strict supervision.
Ignoring Safety Regulations
Medical health facilities have cleaning protocols that must be adhered to. Some of the cleaning protocols include health and safety regulations.
Primarily, health and safety regulations are meant to safeguard the cleaners’ health and well-being during and after cleaning.
Ignoring the safety and health regulations puts the cleaning staff, patients, and other staff members at significant health risks.
Inadequate Documentation
Medical health facilities are renowned for proper documentation. However, an important aspect most health facility cleaners often overlook when cleaning is proper documentation.
Professional cleaners need a clear documented record of the cleaning schedules, product catalogue, and cleaning procedures. Proper documentation of all the cleaning activities helps increase accountability.
Additionally, well-documented cleaning records make it easy to track the cleaning works in a medical health facility.
Conclusion
The cleaning mistakes discussed above put your patients and staff members at great health risk. Thus, it would be best to hire professional commercial cleaners to clean and disinfect your health facility in order to mitigate potential health hazards.
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