In a hospital environment, hygiene is everyone's business

Hygiene nurse Raija Uusi-Hakimo from Kuusiolinna runs a hygiene programme that helps entire organisations to develop in matters related to hygiene. She is assisted by Kiilto's product specialist Kaisa Sairanen, whose product knowledge and training sessions help the staff to maintain cleanliness and safety in the hospital.

The Kuusiolinna organisation takes care of the health care of the municipalities of Alavus, Kuortane, Ähtäri and Soini and consists of many different units.

Each unit of Kuusiolinna has an assigned hygiene contact person whose responsibility it is to advance hygiene-related matters in their unit. This practice aims to ensure that understanding about hygiene is spread evenly throughout the organisation.

Negligence can have heavy consequences

In the acute and rehabilitation units, hospital hygiene is adhered to in a systematic manner as the illnesses and repercussions caused by viruses and microbes are very concretely present in everyday work. Under those conditions it is easy to see the value of good hygiene.

However, maintaining good hygiene is equally important in preventive services such as those provided by maternity clinics. Good hygiene must be adhered to in all customer contacts.

Maintaining a high level of hygiene at all points

In the development of hygiene-related matters, hygiene nurse Raija Uusi-Hakimo considers it especially crucial that the significance of hygiene is remembered throughout the entire organisation: if even a small group of people is indifferent towards hygiene it can undo the careful work of a much larger group.

- In hygiene we are just as strong as our weakest link. Our customers and staff often rotate from unit to unit. It is for everyone's benefit that the level of hygiene remains high at all points, says Uusi-Hakimo.

Kiilto's active partnership promotes matters of hygiene

As a hygiene nurse, Raija Uusi-Hakimo has now developed hygiene practices in Kuusiolinna for three years. In her thesis for her hygiene nursing degree she charted how the regular hygienic precautions were realised across the entire organisation.

There has already been significant progress from the starting point: general knowledge of hygiene has increased in all units and the staff is now interested and aware of hygiene. The group of hygiene contact persons consists of some 50 staff members. Raija Uusi-Hakimo has been very pleased with Kiilto's support in the development work.

- Kiilto helps us in a variety of ways and serves us even in practical matters. Together with Kaisa we will tour the units in my area again this spring and do a maintenance inspection on our disinfecting Deko washing equipment. As a by-product, the hygiene contact persons of our units receive a lot of new information on how to work in the maintenance room from both the hygiene nurse and Kiilto's specialist.

Training incorporates new practices into actual work

The development programme led by Uusi-Hakimo offers the hygiene contact persons training sessions three times a year and other learning events with discussions among peers, among other activities.

Kiilto's own product specialist Kaisa Sairanen has also played a part in planning and organising the training sessions. In addition to being involved in the training, Kaisa also distributes information about operational safety and surface cleaning to the staff both on-site and by phone.

- The training sessions should be interesting and inspiring to the participants so that what has been learned will also be transferred to the other personnel of the unit and become part of everyday work, says Uusi-Hakimo.

Kuusiolinna is constantly developing its hygiene practices in close co-operation with Kaisa and other Kiilto specialists.

- Our hygiene contact persons have felt that the training sessions on the safety and use of new Kiilto products have been very useful. 

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