Transparency is key

That's according to Gurkamal Aujla, deputy operations manager of the facilities management company Carillion Health at Darent Valley Hospital Dartford, who has seen many changes and demands on his team over the last eleven years. This transparency means that standards are constantly reviewed and every member of the team is made aware of just how important their role is in preventing the spread of bacterial infections. 

Infection Control Teams have the responsibility for scrutinising everything and Gurkamal says that one of the current hot topics is hand hygiene. His responsibility goes beyond keeping Leonardo dispensers, manufactured by Connect Hygiene Products, clean and filled – it also covers their positioning and fitting. Leonardo dispensers are relatively easy to fit and the Compact range allows them even greater flexibility. This means that less highly skilled workers can fit them and if cracks and paint chips do occur, they are easily remedied. This reduces the risks of the damage itself becoming a potential source of bacterial spread.

Leonardo only supply hand towels (as opposed to roll towels) into clinical areas, so one-sheet-at-a-time, touchless dispensing is the norm. Roll towels are in place in non-clinical areas, though they too are enclosed by the dispenser, showing that thought has been given to reducing risk even in these less critical areas. The stub roll system cuts down waste and where lever dispensers are the most appropriate, handles are treated with Bio Kleen, demonstrating that another possible source of infection spread has been dealt with.

Hospital cleaning staff are under pressure with these essential and demanding regimes, so anything that makes more mundane tasks quicker and easier to carry out, allowing them time to concentrate on more complex issues, is an obvious advantage. So the Leonardo dispensers designed-in benefits of easy monitoring through translucent covers and easy to clean surfaces that discourage the accumulation of dirt all make a small but important contribution that help achieve the overall high standards that make Darent Valley a safe, comfortable and clean place to be treated.