Just what the doctor ordered

One of TV's best known doctors, Hilary Jones, is backing a campaign to help carehome owners and managers reduce infections.

Dr Hilary, with a following of 5 million viewers, listeners and readers - is backing a drive by JLA, a leader in commercial laundry equipment, to safeguard vulnerable residents and even staff.

His talk at the London Care Show - "Resident health - a survival guide" - followed a poll of carehomes who had switched to the company's superbugkilling OTEX laundry. A huge 54 percent reported a drop in infections among elderly residents, and a quarter even saw a fall in sickness levels among fit, healthy staff.

OTEX uses ozone to kill all bacteria, which is said to eliminate the possibility of cross infection via sheets, clothes, uniforms and mops; it supersedes conventional laundries which have been proven to allow deadly superbugs, like C. difficile, to survive.

The system is one of only 10 products to have received the NHS's top accolade, "Level 1 Rapid Review Panel" status, and is already working in hospitals, carehomes, schools, veterinary practices, hospices, hotels, spas and sports clubs.

Hilary's talk coincided with the launch of a new Validation unit, which produces an audit trail to confirm the laundry is fully disinfected.

Dr Hilary said: "The media love to hate carehomes, and bad news - such as an outbreak of a serious infection - can be tragic for residents, and wreck hard-earned reputations, built up over many years.

"Life is made doubly difficult for managers, as infections such as C.

difficile are now a real problem in the community, and can spread easily within a carehome; from a carehome to hospital; and, ominously, from hospital back to the carehome.

"I am looking to provide owners and managers with the information they need to minimise the risk and break this cycle."