Offering a smart hand in hygiene

The Hull and East Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust has decided to standardise its cleaning and washroom products. Caroline Gorman explains why

The Trust, which is split across the Hull Royal Infirmary and Castle Hill Hospital sites, had previously used a range of different suppliers until the trust made a decision to standardise the cleaning and washroom products used.

Caroline Gorman, contracts manager said: "We had various different suppliers and products for our cleaning and washroom products, including some of the Lotus Professional product range. We decided to channel all the products from one supplier, to achieve consistency and to promote a more clinical feel, better suited to the environment.

"We looked to change some of the products we were using in the washrooms and around the hospitals, namely the toilet roll dispensers, as we found they were a key issue. We were using standard dispensers which encouraged excess waste, so we wanted a unit that would reduce this surplus waste whilst also providing ultimate hygiene, with infection prevention in the hospitals being our clear priority.

"As well as cost-effectiveness, we were looking to achieve the highest standard of hygiene, as it is important for our patients to receive utmost quality care. Sue Simcox, healthcare account manager at Georgia-Pacific, suggested we trial the SmartOne toilet tissue system. We had already used Lotus Professional hand-towels for about two years and had always found them to be an excellent supplier, providing professional advice and products, so we felt the SmartOne toilet tissue system could provide us with the solution we were after."

Reducing the risk of cross contamination "Unlike the previous toilet roll dispenser that we had been using, the SmartOne system is fully enclosed, which provides a far more hygienic solution as the toilet tissue is no longer open to the elements and therefore far less susceptible to contamination. The SmartOne dispenser helps to prevent infection, as each sheet is dispensed one at a time and each tissue is only touched by the user. This has helped to reduce the spread of germs and cross-contamination from hand-to-product contact across our washrooms, which is crucial to providing our patients with the safest, most sterile environment possible."

Easy to use for staff and patients "The fact that each sheet is dispensed individually also makes it easier for our patients to use as well as for our nurses, as only one hand is needed to use the dispenser so the other hand can be used to assist the patient. This means not only is the dispenser system more accessible, but it also controls the amount of tissue dispensed, which reduces the amount of tissue that may inadvertently get dropped onto the floor, so we have seen a big reduction in waste since installing the SmartOne dispensers.

"The cleaning staff don't need to re-stock and replenish as frequently due to the controlled dispensing function and the dispenser unit is easy to refill and maintain, so our staff are able to spend more time tending to the patients rather than seeing to the washrooms.

Reducing waste and saving resources "The SmartOne dispensers have helped us to achieve exactly the effect we wanted, providing us with an extremely safe and hygienic system for use across our sites and helping us to maintain cleaner facilities, whilst reducing waste and ultimately saving resources in the long run. The sleek appearance of the dispensers, which we have predominantly in white, is just another reason why they're so ideal for our healthcare facilities.

"Georgia-Pacific has provided us with an excellent service and we are looking to use them for more of our cleaning and hygiene needs in the future. They always make good suggestions, but I've never felt pressured and they always respond to my queries straight away, looking at figures and costs for me to find the best solution - it really is a full service from them." Sue Simcox, healthcare account manager at Georgia-Pacific says "I went into train the staff on how to use the product efficiently so that they weren't wasting tissue and to make sure both sites are getting the most out of the product's benefits.

"I wanted the staff and the patients at Hull and East Yorkshire NHS Trust to benefit from the full advantages offered by the SmartOne dispenser so suggested they trial it as soon as I realised they were looking to change from their old supplier."