16.03.2020, 13:56
The Role of FM in Hospital Hygiene
Colin Trowell, managing director of UK hard services provider Artic Building Services, on the role of facilities management in supporting hospital Estate Teams to control infection and maintain good patient hygiene.
With the coronavirus outbreak placing even greater pressure on a reportedly understaffed and under-resourced National Health Service, the contribution of the Facilities Manager in ensuring hospital hygiene is becoming even more apparent.
The cleanliness of medical wards and operating theatres, critical equipment and pharmaceutical storage facilities is essential for ensuring the safety of Doctors, Nurses, patients and visitors – and all falls under the remit of your Facilities Manager.
Facilities Management comprises multiple disciplines that we often take for granted, as they are performed at a high-level strategically and operationally behind the scenes. As global concern increases around infection control and patient hygiene, the FM plays a fundamental part in hygiene and cleanliness, structuring the correct processes and protocols within your hospital. The smallest particle can contaminate water, equipment and jeopardise medical procedures. Dust from construction projects can contaminate sterile areas. Proper ventilation, strict hygiene measures and pressurisation are vital in the control of disease and infection.
With the World Health Organization (WHO) recently upgrading coronavirus disease (COVID-19) to the status of pandemic; and re-assessing the global risk of a virus outbreak as “very high” – its top-level risk assessment; the need for implementing strict hygiene processes in hospitals has never been greater.
The FM monitors and controls your hospital to ensuring recommended standards of hygiene are upheld. Like other leading facility service providers, Artic ensures staff working on hospital contracts receive specialist training and are fully aware of their responsibility to safeguard clients from potential claims and litigation arising from hygiene-related issues.
A Facilities Management Company can empower your Estates Team by providing access to the full suite of technical and engineering solutions that is necessary for the operation of modern healthcare facilities.
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