General cleanliness

• Infections are caused by harmful disease-causing germs called pathogens.

  Pathogens can be found all around us, inside our bodies and in the air, and they can spread from person to person.

  There are many different types of pathogens, but the two main types are bacteria and viruses.

  An example of an infection caused by bacteria is gastroenteritis; an example of an infection caused by a virus is flu.
• Why is infection prevention carried out?

  • There are lots of opportunities for bacteria to grow in health and social care settings - they are used by lots of people over the day and many different activities take place e.g. meals being prepared and served, physical examinations and treatments.
  • Employers are required by law (the Health & Safety Act 1974) to prevent infections in the workplace.
  • Employees are responsible for ensuring their work practices are safe and that they protect themselves, their colleagues, service users and others from infections.
• Why is infection prevention carried out?

  Infections are unpleasant and can lead to serious illness and can even cause fatalities.

  Infections can make people feel unwell physically and this can in turn affect their emotional wellbeing.

  Infections can cause sickness in service providers, which can lead to staff shortages.

  Infections can cause sickness in service users, which can lead to them requiring more care and more pressure being applied to service providers, which can in turn lead to stress.
• Health and social care settings are environments where infections can spread easily because:

  • there are large numbers of people
  • people may be unwell with an infection such as MRSA or Norovirus
  • individuals may be more vulnerable to infections if their body’s ability to fight infections has been weakened
  • work activities such as assisting service users with eating, drinking, personal care, handling food, cleaning and waste disposal, carry high risk of infection.
• How does infection prevention protect service users and providers?

  • Prevents them becoming unwell
  • Safeguards individuals
  • Makes individuals feel safe
  • Reassures individuals
  • Minimises risk of infection
• General cleanliness

  Infections can be prevented by general cleanliness in health and social care settings.

  This includes in:

  • shared areas such as bathrooms, toilets and kitchens
  • communal areas such as lounges and meeting rooms
  • private areas such as bedrooms and en suites.
• Ways to ensure general cleanliness

  • Antibacterial sprays
  • Clean toys and play equipment
  • Mop floors and vacuum carpets
  • Clean and disinfect toilets
  • Disposal of hazardous waste
• Antibacterial sprays

  • Infections can be prevented by general cleanliness in health and social care settings through the use of antibacterial sprays on surfaces such as tables, work surfaces and worktops.
  • Antibacterial sprays destroy any harmful pathogens (germs) that cause infection and are present on surfaces, so that the infection cannot spread to another person who uses/comes into contact with that surface.
• Clean toys and play equipment

  • Toys and play equipment should be cleaned regularly.
  • Regular cleaning ensures that harmful pathogens (germs) that cause infection cannot spread from person to person.
  • In settings such as health centres, children handle toys with their hands, may put toys in their mouths and share play equipment – regular cleaning prevents infections spreading.
• Mop floors and vacuum carpets

  • Floors should be mopped and carpets vacuumed daily.
  • Daily mopping of floors and vacuuming of carpets ensures that harmful pathogens (germs) that cause infection cannot spread.
  • Floors can be the source of harmful pathogens because they have different people walking on them who may be carrying dirt on their shoes. They may also have had spillages of body fluids or leftover food. This makes them environments where bacteria could multiply.
• Clean and disinfect toilets

  • Toilets should be cleaned and disinfected frequently.
  • Regular cleaning and disinfection of toilets ensures that harmful pathogens (germs) that cause infection cannot spread from person to person.
  • Toilets can be a source of harmful pathogens because they are high-risk areas where body fluids such as urine, faeces and vomit are collected.
• Disposal of hazardous waste

  • Hazardous waste in care settings can include waste that is clinical, such as dressings/aprons/gloves (blood), or contains body fluids such as urine and faeces, such as incontinence pads.

  Hazardous waste should be disposed of correctly by:

  • Sharps box for used syringes
  • Using different coloured bags to identify if the waste is hazardous/infectious:
  • orange - waste containing body fluids, highly infectious
  • yellow -waste containing body fluids, no known risk of infection
  • Red – soiled bed linen
  • Black - general domestic waste, no infection risk