Does your healthcare washroom deliver?

Hand hygiene has never been more important - especially in healthcare and hospital settings where patients are more prone to picking up infections. Paul Mulready, marketing manager at Northwood Hygiene Products Ltd, looks at how washrooms play their part.

Astudy conducted at Leeds General Infirmary last year investigated whether viruses carried beyond washroom surfaces to the hospital’s public and clinical spaces. It found that hand washing and drying with paper towels resulted in lower rates of virus contamination compared to air dryers. The levels of contamination of surfaces after hand drying with air dryers was, on average, 10 times higher than with paper towels.

Hands up

We all know how important washing our hands is but drying them after washing is equally essential as damp hands can spread 1000 times more bacteria than dry hands [1] It’s imperative, therefore, that washrooms in hospital and healthcare settings must be well equipped to keep staff, patients and visitors safe.

The Raphael proprietary washroom system from Northwood continues to help healthcare and hospital washrooms to deliver optimum hygiene credentials, whilst achieving performance and sustainability.

Helping to support good hand hygiene in the highest traffic washrooms, Raphael combines a number of hygiene-promoting features and offers users a choice of four hand towel dispensers. The dispensers provide contactless dispensing to minimise bacteria and the sheets are dispensed at a consistent length to facilitate effective hand drying and reduce waste. All Raphael hand drying systems dispense one at a time flat sheets to prevent overuse and, because the user only touches the paper they are using, they help to reduce the spread of germs. Made from a single-piece shell, the dispensers are easy to wipe clean and all towels are fully enclosed for added hygiene.

The roll towel dispensers hold up to 250 sheets each, providing around 500 dries, Continued on Page 30. P