Back to all ArticlesAged care cleaning have a duty of care to ensure that the patient care environment within their facility is maintained to a very high standard of hygiene and cleanliness.
At Smart Cleaning Solutions we are highly experience in aged care cleaning environment and we have sophisticated policies and procedures in place (ISO 9001 certified) to ensure all our cleaning staff and their direct supervisors are training in cleaning standards designed to mitigate and manage the risk of the spread of disease or infections in an aged care facility.
Consequently, all of our cleaning teams working in health care or an aged care environment are aware of how infectious micro-organisms are transmitted and employ cleaning procedures designed to mitigate the spread of disease and ensure that your facility is constantly cleaned and maintained in ways that reduce the risks of diseases, viruses or infections spreading.
Some of the procedures and protocols we use include:
Routine Cleaning of Frequently Touched Surfaces
Doing routine daily cleaning on frequently touched surfaces in residents’ rooms and communal areas that can spread germs, bacteria or viruses that may induce diseases among staff & residents.
Hand Hygiene
Hand hygiene is critical in a healthcare environment and our cleaning teams are aware of the importance of maintaining stringent hygiene protocols that involve hand washing before work and between tasks, the use of decontamination hand rubs where applicable as well, the use of gloves.
Cough Etiquette & Illness Policy
Staff are aware of cough etiquette as it applies in health care environments and are fully aware of their obligation to NOT come to work if they have any known infection. We have adequate staff to cover the absence of regular staff through illness, the job is always done.
Dedicate Infectious Control/Outbreak Team
When we are notified of an outbreak in your facility, our dedicated infectious control outbreak team is immediately employed to perform a “Bleach down” which covers all affected areas as well as all touch points, door handles, hand rails, horizontal surfaces etc through the facility. Particular emphasis is applied to any specific areas where the outbreak is known to have been active, and all work is carried out according to relevant standards regarding ‘transmission’ or ‘outbreak’ based cleaning practices.
The Use of Personal Protective Equipment
All of our cleaning staff are trained in the appropriate use of personal protective equipment (PPE), which includes gloves, gowns and aprons, safety glasses, and the use of masks and face shields.
Gloves
Gloves are used when cleaning toilets and bathrooms, cleaning up spillages such as blood, vomit and faeces; and also when cleaning environments which require the application of transmission-based precautions.
Gowns, Aprons, Safety Glasses and Face Masks
Gowns, aprons, safety glasses and face masks are used according to appropriate recommended guidelines when there is a risk of contamination with blood, body fluids, secretions or excretions and upon entering the room of a known to be infected patient, where droplet and air borne transmission-based precautions are necessary.
Cleaning Schedules, Chemicals, Equipment and Techniques
There are a range of published recommendations for cleaning schedules and the use of cleaning equipment, chemicals and techniques in a health care setting. These include risk profiling functional areas in your facility and ensuring that cleaning schedules, procedures, equipment and chemicals are appropriate for each room, surface area, fixture and environment within your facility.
Our cleaners and Account Managers are aware of recommended cleaning frequencies and methods appropriate for each area and ensure that a more than adequate cleaning schedule is planned for your facility’s standard cleaning.
Your cleaning schedule is carried out by dedicated cleaners and their work is checked weekly via spot checks performed by your account manager, and furthermore your cleaning schedule is audited monthly by dedicated inspectors we have on staff.
These inspections and audits ensure our cleaners are on top of hygiene and cleanliness in your facility and assure your total satisfaction with the hygiene and cleanliness of your facility.
Appropriate Record Keeping
Our cleaning process includes appropriate record keeping ensuring that our cleaning staff and supervisors and your own facilities managers can ensure that all cleaning activities are completed as agreed in your written cleaning schedule.
A clear written cleaning schedule plus weekly site inspections and monthly audits against the schedule ensures that, in the unlikely event that something is missed, the matter is identified quickly and rectified without delay.
We also have a communications book available so any feedback can be left for our cleaning team, and we guarantee response to reported issues within four hours of the matter being reported.
For more information on our aged care facilities cleaning service please click on this link and if you have any specific questions about our service or would like a quote, feel free to fill in the form you find on the page or simply call 1300 664 47
