Healthcare – reducing HCAIs

In the United Kingdom it is estimated that 5000 people die each year as a result of Healthcare-associated Infections (HCAIs) – that’s higher than the number of road deaths each year!

 

The need to reduce HCAIs in healthcare establishments has never been greater, with hygiene standards and patient safety a top priority for all. With 1 in 8 patients having a hospital infection at any one time, pressure from the media, government and public to lower infection rates is relentless.

BioCote® is effective against Superbugs including MRSA, working as an additional line of defence against bacteria and complementing hygiene practices stated in the Department of Health’s Code of Practice. BioCote works in-between cleaning, 24 hours a day, to keep Superbugs to a minimum.

 

BioCote Ltd works with a number of international healthcare manufacturers and is currently being specified by top NHS Trusts.

 

BioCote® can be applied to most medical devices, instruments, equipment, fixtures and fittings, offering a complete antimicrobial environment at no or very little extra cost. If you market products to the healthcare sector and are interested in giving your range protection against HCAIs, BioCote® can assist.
 

As a professional concerned about HCAIs, take a look at the range of products available with BioCote® that provide the opportunity to create an entire, cost effective antimicrobial environment.



 

 

  

In January, the first ever study into the effect of silver antimicrobial products on a healthcare environment was published in the Journal for Infection Prevention*.

 

The pilot trial was carried out by BioCote Ltd in partnership with the Heart of England NHS Foundation Trust in the UK.

 

The trial involved the Trust furnishing an outpatient unit (unit A) with BioCote^® protected products including blinds, tiles, door handles, sack holders and light switches and also a number of untreated products. A similar unit (unit B) containing untreated items was used as a control. After both units had been in use for 12 months, swabs were collected from both the BioCote^® treated and untreated products in both units and the levels of bacteria were compared.

 

Results showed an average reduction in bacteria of 95.8% on BioCote^® treated products, compared to untreated items. This suggests that the high level of antimicrobial efficacy regularly demonstrated with laboratory product validation can be reproduced in a real-life environment.

 

Reductions were also seen on untreated products: bacterial counts were 43.5% lower on untreated products in unit A (the same environment as BioCote^® treated products), compared with untreated products in unit B. This finding suggests that the lower numbers of bacteria on BioCote^® treated surfaces results in lower numbers on untreated surfaces, because there are fewer bacteria being transferred from one to the other.

 

Using a number of BioCote^® antimicrobial products may therefore help the decontamination of the wider environment.

 

The pilot study also shows how BioCote^® protected products can be used alongside cleaning practices to help continually and in the wider healthcare environment.