Hospital hygiene is one of the main factors to guarantee the safety, well-being and health of patients and healthcare professionals. In a busy, easily contaminated environment, pressure can lead to mistakes with major consequences.
Florence Nightingale, the forerunner of modern nursing, would also agree. When Nightingale arrived on the battlefields of the Crimean War, a conflict that took place between 1853 and 1856 in southern Russia and the Balkans, the horror she witnessed led her to revolutionize hospital hygiene habits. The lack of sanitary conditions was such that, as soon as some good practices were implemented, the mortality rate among soldiers was reduced by more than 40%.
Today, Nightingale’s observations continue to govern cleaning, hygiene and disinfection processes in clinics and hospitals. She discovers 5 good hospital hygiene practices that promote patient health and that would undoubtedly be 100% Nightingale approved.
Today, Nightingale’s observations continue to govern cleaning, hygiene and disinfection processes in clinics and hospitals. Discover 5 good hospital hygiene practices that promote patient health and that would undoubtedly be 100% approved by Nightingale
What is hospital hygiene?
Hospital hygiene encompasses all practices and procedures adopted in hospitals and other healthcare facilities to prevent the spread of infection and ensure a safe and clean environment for patients, healthcare professionals and visitors.
To meet this objective, hospital hygiene includes various measures and protocols that are implemented to control the spread of pathogens such as bacteria, viruses, fungi and other microorganisms. All procedures are carried out taking into account the risk of infection in the different units, such as emergencies, operating rooms, intensive care units, hospital floors, outpatient clinics and administrative areas, among others.
In this way, hospital hygiene plays a key role in ensuring a safe healthcare space and, ultimately, protecting public health.
5 good practices to guarantee hospital hygiene
Some of the main hospital hygiene measures that must be implemented and monitored include:
1. Definition of hygiene processes
A healthcare facility has more critical areas than others, but all must be controlled with special attention, since there is always the risk of cross contamination. The definition of processes and a hygiene and disinfection program allow these risk areas to be evaluated and the care and techniques to be followed, and the materials to be used, adapted.
The quality of the products for the individual protection of the professional or the cleaning equipment are essential points that must also be taken into account.
2. Monitoring of quality standards
Monitoring quality standards allows hospitals, clinics and laboratories to have greater control over the implemented processes.
It is also possible to obtain a quality certification for the medical establishment if it has a well-preserved physical structure, adequate materials for sanitation, process manuals, cleaning standards, and human resources specialized in hospital hygiene.
3. Adequate staff training
To maintain a clean, sterilized, and prepared space for all medical activities to be carried out, it is necessary that all those involved be specialized in the different hygiene processes, such as hand washing, waste classification, contamination, outbreak containment, or disease management. products and equipment.
Both cleaning services and healthcare professionals, and even patients themselves, must be aware of the importance of hygiene and ways to prevent contamination and infection, especially for at-risk patients.
4. Hospital waste management
In addition to possible polluting agents, healthcare waste is also considered a risk to the environment. For this reason, it is necessary to efficiently manage it, transport it to specialized centers and properly store it.
In accordance with current legislation in Spain, healthcare waste must be classified according to its management requirements, establishing risk parameters for each material.
5. Use of new technologies
New technologies provide advantages to improve hygiene processes, making them more efficient and safer. More effective microfiber cloths, different formulas of liquid disinfectants, self-disinfecting surfaces and even contactless decontamination are some examples of new technologies applied to the healthcare sector.
