You are currently viewing Hygiene in Hospitals

Ensuring a high standard of hygiene has always been a top priority for health clinics and hospitals but never before has it been so important with the rise of the pandemic.

Over the course of the past year we have seen hospitals and healthcare clinics being pushed to the limit as well as a great strain put on the workforce and it does not look like this is about to change. Every patient who is in a hospital setting is at risk of contracting an infection while being treated for something else, and healthcare workers are at risk too. Whilst working around numerous highly infectious patients, maintaining a high level of health and hygiene is paramount to stopping the spread of illnesses and protecting healthcare workers so they are able to continue providing care and support to those who desperately need it.

Be sure to find out more on how Tweaq’s self cleaning door handle can enhance hygiene in the healthcare industry.

What’s the problem?

Hand hygiene in hospital settings is an essential component in preventing the spread of infection yet it is too often neglected with compliance rates in extensive hand hygiene sometimes dipping below 20%[1].

Healthcare workers should clean their hands as many as 100 times per a 12-hour shift, however studies have shown that some workers practice hand hygiene less than half the times they should[2] as on average, 61% of healthcare workers not adhering to proper handwashing practices[3].

Overcrowding of healthcare facilities; an issue facing health clinics and hospitals across the country and across the world, the lack of distinct patient zones and the issue of unreliable access to adequate hand sanitiser are just a few of the numerous challenges preventing effective hand hygiene[1].

With hospital infections affecting 14 out of every 100 patients admitted, more can be done to ensure strong hygiene standards are maintained; as an improvement to hand hygiene can bring down the spread of healthcare associated infections through contact of common touch points by more than 50%[4]. However, leaving the responsibility of maintaining the high standards of hygiene required in the hands of healthcare workers can not guarantee they will be met.

Why is it important to keep hospitals clean?

It is essential to keep hospitals clean to stop the spread of germs between patients who are already at risk as well as visitors and healthcare staff. Touch points in hospital settings can be hotspots for contact transmission between people. Tweaq recognised this issue and looked at a surface where people most come into contact with in hospital settings. A door handle. Just think about how many doors you have to open in a hospital or clinic. Not all of them are as simple as a push or pull (where you still have to touch the door) but a large number of doors are opened by a conventional handle. A conventional handle which can infect up to 60 percent of occupants in a building.[5]

Tweaq has “tweaq-ed” the door handle, bringing the future of hygiene to the current day. Creating a self disinfecting door handle called “Rise”.

Once a person uses Rise the handle is awakened by the internal sensors which initiates the disinfection process. The pump irrigates the sponge located inside the magnetic ring with an antibacterial solution. The process disinfects the door handle’s surface to eliminate 99.9% of bacteria and viruses in just under 3 seconds.

The smart IoT technology allows each self disinfecting door handle to track usage, relaying the information to an app. Solution levels can be monitored so the user can schedule the delivery of refills on time and monitor how often each Rise is used.Tweaq’s world first door handle is a perfect solution to the need for better health and hygiene in healthcare settings as it can guarantee to reduce the spread of diseases and infections via contact with touch points and protect both patients and healthcare workers. Meet the Tweaq Rise now.

30/06/2021/