Better cleaning means improved care

Jan-Hein Hemke, Managing Director of contract cleaning specialists Facilicom, explains how making sure cleaning operatives are well treated can improve the quality of care being delivered in hospitals and healthcare environments.

Good healthcare and hospital hygiene relies on a clean environment for the safety and well-being of those being cared for, as well as visitors and employees. You only have to look at the significant impact an outbreak of the Norovirus, such as the recent one in a Kent hospital, can have to appreciate what can happen when viruses spread. Cleaning operatives play a vital part in stopping and containing outbreaks, but unfortunately they do not always get the respect and recognition they deserve for the role they play.

As well as the human suffering, there is also a financial impact to the spread of viruses. It is estimated that healthcare associated infections (HCAIs) cost the NHS £1 billion every year. It is vital that every possible step is taken to counter these viruses which flourish when people come into close contact with each other, and that includes making sure everywhere is cleaned properly. Outbreaks of infections can cause staff to be off work; disrupting patient care and adding strain to the remaining staff. Infected patients require an average extra 11 days of care, taking up badly needed hospital beds too.

Give the cleaner a hand

It benefits everyone if cleaning staff are treated fairly; their job satisfaction is higher, as are levels of motivation and retention (so cleaners become more experienced and develop better skills). As a result cleaning standards rise and infection control is improved.

The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) is running a campaign to improve cleaners’ working conditions and my organisation has played a key role representing the contract cleaning sector as part of its Cleaning Taskforce.

The Cleaning Taskforce has created a suite of products – including posters, postcards and a booklet – highlighting the role of cleaners to the public. They are all available to download on the EHRC website.

Without cleaners, society as we know it would grind to a halt and their absence would be acutely felt in the healthcare environment. Cleaning operatives provide an essential service and their treatment should reflect that.

Fair treatment

Facilicom is a family-owned business, so we have always had a very clear approach to how we treat people that work with us; they are colleagues, not employees. We support them in many ways, for example by ensuring that they have the correct uniform (and enough of it to be able to wear clean clothes every day of the week), proper pay, appropriate machinery, adequate training and access to all the relevant employment rights.

The more people support the EHRC campaign, the more cleaners will be treated with respect. For those who work in healthcare this means improving the lives of cleaners, but also the levels of care they are able to provide, as the risk of infection is reduced.

www.equalityhumanrights.com

www.facilicom.co.uk

Published in Tomorrow’s Care – March 2016