Infection Control Services for Aged Care

Infection control should be a top priority in aged care facilities. With the elderly being more vulnerable to infections, routine aged care centre deep cleaning and disinfection services can help reduce the risks, ensuring everyone’s safety.

Infections tend to spread fast, particularly among the elderly population, which is less immune to them. Without the right and timely action, it can have serious impacts. Keeping your aged care facility clean and germ-free is a must.

Cleaning is one of the most effective methods to reduce, or even fully eliminate, the risk of infection in aged care. If you’re struggling with infection control in aged care or need help, call a professional aged-care cleaning company today.

Infection Control In Aged Care – What Should You Know?

Before we start discussing the best ways to control infection in aged care, let’s talk about what infection control is and why it matters.

Infection control refers to the practice of controlling the spread of infections, generally within a facility or area. It may involve a set of procedures or steps designed to limit the reach of infection and prevent it from affecting more people.

Infections can spread in many ways, including direct contact, infected surfaces, and airborne particles. Without proper and timely action, infections can spread quickly, turning into an outbreak in no time.

The COVID outbreak showed us the importance of infection control. Many businesses still struggle to recover from its afterimpacts. It could have been prevented with the right cleaning and infection control measures in place. Let’s find out how.

Can Cleaning Help Control Infection In Aged Care?

The answer is, yes.

Daily cleaning and routine deep cleaning are two of the best ways to control infection in aged care facilities.

There are two steps to infection control. Preventing the spread of infections and eliminating infection from contaminated surfaces. Cleaning (with disinfection) is effective on both.

While deep cleaning helps limit the spread of infections, disinfection eliminates germs from surfaces, making them safe to use.

Aged Care Cleaning and Infection Control Methods

Regular cleaning and disinfection are the two best methods to control the spread of infection and maintain a safe and healthy environment in aged care.

In addition, people should be taught to follow sanitising practices such as frequent handwashing and covering their faces when sneezing or coughing.

The key is to maintain consistent and high-quality cleanliness on your premises. When done right, this will act as the first line of defence to protect elderly people from germs and infections.

Here’s the step-by-step process for aged care cleaning with infection control:

Step 1: Clean High-Touch Points

When cleaning an aged care centre, one must pay special attention to high-touch surfaces and points that can accumulate a lot of germs and contribute to the spread of infections.

These include doorknobs and handles, handrails, switches, phone receivers, tabletops, and counters.

Ensure these surfaces and areas are cleaned frequently, including disinfection, to eliminate infections, reduce the spread of germs, and maintain a fresh, hygienic environment.

Step 2: Restroom Cleaning

Restrooms are highly prone to germs and can significantly contribute to the spread of infections if not managed properly.

Cleaning commercial restrooms involves thorough cleaning and disinfection of all surfaces, including tiles, floors, and slabs, and areas like toilet seats, urinals, basins, and cabinets.

Cleaners must also remove waste and clean garbage cans daily, ensuring a fresh, hygienic environment in toilets.

Step 3: Deep Cleaning and Disinfection

Other areas in an aged care facility may be equally prone to the spread of infections, which is why routine cleaning and sanitization, specifically of hard surfaces and touch points, is mandatory.

Aged care cleaning involves cleaning all areas in a facility, from rooms and kitchens to bathrooms and common areas, removing dirt and bacteria from hard surfaces using appropriate disinfectants, and creating a safe, hygienic environment.

Step 4: Waste Disposal

Waste, particularly medical trash, can also increase infection risk in a facility. Proper and timely management of medical waste is essential to control the spread.

Professional cleaners know how to handle medical waste correctly. If you’re handling cleaning by yourself, here’s what you should do:

• Use different bins for different types of waste
• Use separate containers for biohazardous and medical waste
• Wear PPE, masks and gloves when handling waste
• Avoid direct contact with medical waste, including contaminated materials and equipment
• Dispose of waste according to the authority guidelines
  • General waste: Discard regular waste and clean the bins daily.
  • Medical waste: Use dedicated bins for medical waste. Follow regulations to dispose of such waste.

Step 5: Hand Hygiene

Besides routine cleaning, aged care facilities must also strictly follow hand hygiene practices, including frequently cleaning hands to keep dirt and germs away and control the spread of pathogens and illnesses within premises.

Daily Cleaning Routine – what should you clean daily?

Daily basic cleaning and frequent disinfection are crucial to controlling the risk of infection in aged care centres. The key is to do it right and consistently. Here’s everything a daily aged care cleaning service should cover:

• Clean all rooms
• Clean and disinfect high-touch surfaces frequently
• Clean all toilets and restrooms daily
• Clean and disinfect common spaces, meeting rooms, etc.

Deep Cleaning – when and how to deep clean an aged care facility?

Deep cleaning every once in a while is a good way to attend to those nooks and corners that you might otherwise miss in daily cleaning. Pay special focus to grime, debris and germs that may have accumulated over time.

Deep cleaning can be complex and exhausting, so consider hiring a commercial cleaning company with experience in aged care deep cleaning. Based on your facility’s condition and needs, they can recommend the best frequency for deep cleaning.

A professional deep cleaning service by Clean Group covers the following:

• Clean and disinfect all hard surfaces and floors
• Clean all corners and hard-to-reach places
• Clean vents, fans, ducts, and window sills
• Clean and disinfect doors
• Clean external windows, including high-rise windows and glass
• Disassemble appliances and clean them thoroughly
• Scrub and clean toilet floors and tiles
• Clean and disinfect toilets
• Clean upholstery and furniture in common areas
• Disinfect high-touch points and surfaces

Epidemic Cleaning

If your aged care centre has been subject to a virus outbreak, the best way to ensure everyone’s safety is to hire a professional cleaning company for full decontamination as soon as possible.

The first step is to isolate the affected areas and things, which will help minimise cross-contamination. Do not allow people to enter the area until it has been decontaminated.

Make sure the cleaning team has experience in outbreak cleaning and disinfection. They must wear appropriate protective gear, including PPE, gloves, and masks, during cleaning.

For the best results, consider using EPA-registered disinfectants that are proven effective against the virus.

Epidemic Cleaning Checklist for Aged Care Facilities

• Clean all surfaces thoroughly with a high-quality detergent to remove dirt
• Disinfect hard surfaces and objects to eliminate germs
• Clean and disinfect floors
• Disinfect high-touch areas and surfaces
• Vacuum furniture and upholstery. Use a vacuum cleaner with a HEPA filter.
• Clean all surfaces, cabinets, shelves, tabletops, etc.
• Use a fabric-friendly cleaner to clean/disinfect upholstery. Steam clean if required.
• Disinfect hard furniture surfaces
• Mop hard floors using an approved disinfectant
• Deep clean and disinfect carpets
• Thoroughly clean and sanitise kitchen surfaces, countertops, slabs, and cutting boards using food-safe disinfectants
• Wipe down appliances and disinfect them after every use

Hire Infection Control Cleaning Services for Aged Care in Sydney

As a healthcare facility, aged care centres must take special precautions and follow guidelines to maintain safe living conditions for their patients. This includes routine cleaning and frequent disinfection to eliminate germs and reduce the risk of infections.

If you need expert support, schedule a comprehensive aged care cleaning and disinfection service with Clean Group today. Call our friendly staff for all your healthcare commercial cleaning needs. Our team is highly trained and specialises in infection control cleaning.

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