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You are here  : Home Press 2009 Press Releases 2009 Local hospital is going green
Local hospital is going green
Written by Communications Team   

Ashford & St Peter's Hospitals NHS Trust has just launched a new chemical free cleaning trial at St Peter’s hospital in Chertsey. For the next few weeks patients on Elm Ward will see the housekeeping team cleaning in a different way to normal, using more environmentally friendly equipment which is proven to be even more effective in the fight against infection than traditional methods.



The Housekeeping team and Chief Nurse at St Peter's Hospital with the new cleaning equipment (from left to right: Trisha Smith, Janet Hook, Pauline Bourne, Jose Camara, Filipe Nunes, Caroline Becher, Emma Brooks and Debi Bahadur Limbu.

 
High pressure, high temperature steam cleaners run purely by water will take the place of many chemicals and be used for the majority of floor and wall cleaning. Revolutionary Ozone fogging machines run by Oxygen will take the place of Hydrogen Peroxide to decontaminate side rooms and bathrooms and surfaces such as bed side tables, lockers, mirrors, sinks and chairs will be coated in a natural combination of glass particles and water to create a slippery surface that grime cannot stick to.

William Britton, Head of Hotel Services, said: “We are delighted to be involved in such an unusual and exciting trial and are confident it will be a success and can be rolled out across both hospital sites. With ever increasing pressures on the environment it’s important that every organisation plays their part to reduce their use of chemicals. We are using cutting edge equipment and trying to make sure our chemical free approach covers all aspects of cleaning and decontamination.”

“Whilst ultimate responsibility for the ward lies with the Matron we want to empower our Housekeeping Assistants to take control of cleaning on their wards and set their own high standards. During the trial we have rebranded the role as Healthcare Cleaning Professionals and patients on Elm Ward will be able to clearly spot staff in a new brighter burgundy uniform.”

The success of the trial will be closely monitored through the use of hand held machines to test that all areas are microbiologically clean. William added: “Patient health and safety is always our first priority and we are confident the new cleaning system will kill even more bacteria than our current methods. The Trust has not had a hospital acquired case of MRSA bacteraemia (blood poisoning) 155 days and the new equipment will help us to continue our good work in infection control.”

Last Updated ( Wednesday, 02 September 2009 14:05 )