HEALTHCARE & HOSPITAL HYGIENE

Q Continued from Page 21 white blood cells could be key to fighting sepsis. White blood cells were taken from healthy mice and modified to become macrophages capable of ‘eating’ bacteria and viruses. When these edited cells were transplanted into the bodies of mice with sepsis, they significantly reduced the levels of bacteria present.

These developments have all been pivotal in helping to diagnose and treat the silent killer, which is a particular issue in hospitals. Many patients are elderly and frail and have compromised immune systems, while also being surrounded by other people who are ill.

However, sepsis only takes hold in response to an infection. And according to the Sepsis Alliance, many infections can be prevented in the first place via good wound care and by practising consistent hand hygiene. Any break in the skin could allow bacteria to enter and cause an infection. It is therefore vital that all wounds are constantly monitored by healthcare staff and cleaned thoroughly between dressing changes.

High standards of hand hygiene are also of paramount importance. According to the World Health Organization, hand hygiene is thought to be able to cut the number of healthcare-related infections in general by up to 40%. The Sepsis Alliance advises frequent hand washing with soap and water followed by a thorough dry using a clean towel. Meanwhile, WHO urges all healthcare workers to adopt its ‘My five moments of hand hygiene’ which states that healthcare staff should wash their hands before touching a patient, before carrying out any aseptic procedure, after exposure to body fluid, after touching a patient, and after touching the patient’s surroundings. But while frequent hand washing is crucial to preventing crosscontamination, around 70% of healthcare workers globally still fail to practise hand hygiene on a regular basis according to the WHO’s Clean Hands 2020 campaign.

The reasons behind this poor compliance include a shortage of time, the nonavailability of products and a low level of understanding about the importance of good hand hygiene protocols. Some healthcare workers also complain of poor skin health due to frequent hand washing using harsh soaps and abrasive hand towels. So it is important to ensure that skin-friendly products are always available and that healthcare workers understand the importance of using them.

Mild soaps and soft hand towels make hand washing and drying a much more pleasant experience. For example, Tork Extra Mild Foam Soap is allergy-friendly and certified by ECARF, the European Centre for Allergy Research Foundation, while Tork Xpress Extra Soft Multifold Hand Towels are soft, absorbent and gentle on the skin. And a fragrance-free conditioning cream such as Tork Non-perfumed Hand & Body Lotion will help to prevent chapping and soreness when used after hand washing.

Staff should also be instructed on the optimum way of washing their hands.

Essity’s own Tork Clean Hands Training module invites users into a digital world where they are confronted with a series of scenarios where hand hygiene needs to be carried out. Developed in collaboration with behavioural scientists and hand hygiene experts, the training aims to provide hand hygiene guidance in an engaging way.

Besides being skin-friendly, all hand hygiene products should be easy to use to facilitate the process for harassed healthcare workers. The Tork Skincare Dispenser has been designed to be particularly easy to use even for people with low hand strength, and the unit houses 2500 shots of foam soap which ensures that it will not run out when a hand wash is urgently needed.

In cases where hand washing is impractical or inconvenient, staff should be encouraged to sanitise their hands using an alcohol gel or hand rub. Tork Alcohol Hand Sanitisers are available in a range of formats designed for the medical worker’s convenience.

Research into finding new ways of diagnosing and tackling sepsis is continuing at pace. In February this year it was announced that a five-year US study into the role that artificial intelligence could play in Improving sepsis diagnoses and enhancing patient outcomes was to begin at Emory University, Atlanta. So the fight against sepsis has entered a promising new phase. But in the meantime, hospitals should do what they can to remain vigilant and to improve hand hygiene to help reduce the number of infections.

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