Clean hands underfoot
April 1st 2008 Reminding staff and visitors to clean their hands before entering a hospital ward is
paramount in fighting HAIs. Denis Rawlins has helped bring one NHS Trust's idea to
fruition in the form of floor mats that tell staff and visitors to do just that
Reminding staff and visitors to clean their hands before entering
a hospital ward has never been more important than in today's
'superbug' environment.Continually getting this message
across to people, however, proves to be a real challenge requiring a
novel approach to make sure it is not forgotten.
The Calderdale & Huddersfield NHS Foundation Trust has come up
with the idea of placing launderable message mats carrying the 'Now
Clean Your Hands'
message at various
sites within the trust.
The trust includes
Calderdale Royal
Hospital, a modern
day centre of
excellence, which has
placed the mats
beneath gel
dispensers used to
sanitise hands to help
prevent infection.
Tracy Rawcliffe, Service Performance Manager of the Trust, came up
with the idea while attending the recent AHCP (Association of
Healthcare Cleaning Professionals) Conference in Blackpool. She felt
the mats would stand out from amongst the many messages that can
be found on hospital walls and would thus more likely be noticed.
Unlike on the hospital's walls, they are the only message that can be
seen on the floor and will thus not get lost in a plethora of competing
messages.The brightly coloured red mats are emblazed with a pair of
clean hands and the message in yellow to ensure they are highly
visible.
As well as conveying this principal message, the mats also provide
a second function, that of minimising the slip hazard that dispensers
can create due to the spillage of gel on the floor. The mats also have a
non slip rubber backing to minimise movement of the mat when it is
stepped on.
The mats are supplied by Denis Rawlins, based in Sutton Coldfield,
West Midlands. Mats can be made with any message or image on
them and can be manufactured in ten days from approval of the
artwork. Call the number below for
further information. More articles from Denis Rawlins Ltd: | 
