How to reduce human error within Infection Control
Human error is an inevitable part of daily life, where the health and wellbeing of others are the responsibility of human decision. Many factors make up why human error happens, whether it is competency, the lack of training, inconsistent processes, unreliable products, or even poor lighting, humans are not perfect: ‘to err is human’. However, there are ways to reduce this risk.
Human error is one of the leading causes of Healthcare Associated Infections (HCAIs), which affect approximately 300,000 patients a year and cause roughly 9,000 deaths throughout the UK. This does not include the latest figures surrounding COVID-19 and the recent Norovirus infection rate rise.
This is a horrifying statistic, considering the NHS spends roughly £1 billion per year to tackle the spread of HCAIs.
A lot of human error within infection control/ sanitisation is due to improper product handling, dilution, and activation of products. Although concentrated products have their own benefits, such as being more cost and storage efficient, they hold a higher risk of errors due to various human factors.
Every company that sells a product believes that theirs is the best on the market. While that title is subjective to the audience in which you target, medical products such as infection control rely on scientific results to prove their worth within the market.
One of the best ways to stand out in such a competitive area is to provide a product that is proven to be effective and can provide a solution to an issue.
The Medi9 infection control range is a specialist solution that is manufactured entirely in the UK and can be shipped nationally and internationally. It is alcohol and chlorine free, which offers multiple benefits for various reasons and requirements.
Medi9 wipes and sprays are an all-in-one, ready to use solution, and are proven effective against bacteria, viruses, spores, and fungi, with one wipe or application.
The range was first created when our clients within the NHS and emergency sectors began to inform us of the issues around human error and use of chlorine-based products. It has since been tested against all relevant European Standards for Infection Control and has been approved for use in healthcare facilities such as NHS Trusts and Emergency Services.
All in one infection control solutions are an easy way to quickly implement a product that can reduce the risk of human error. Not only do ready to use products cut down on staff time, but they guarantee a proper dilution of concentrated ingredients with a controlled quality of water.
All too often, Hospital staff dilute concentrated solutions with tap water. Although tap water in the UK is a lot better in terms of quality than the US, for example, the UK water supply still contains chlorine, which is used to disinfect water supplies, and limescale, which builds up within water pipes. Not to mention any potential contaminates within tap water, including fluoride, lead, or even microplastics. This can have a massive effect on the efficacy of the concentrated product.
A lot of infection control ranges that are used within hospitals and other healthcare sectors, while effective, require a number of different wipes or sprays to be effective against all pathogens.
Requiring more than one wipe still does not reduce the risk of human error enough to be truly effective. Hospitals cannot guarantee that both or all wipes will be used within the decontamination process. Medi9 uses one wipe for all applications for this reason.
Medi9’s ready to use products are blended on our site with quality controlled, 100% purified water, increasing the efficacy of the infection control product itself.
Ready to use products are not as cost effective as concentrated solutions, if the risk of human error is reduced, RTU products will provide cost and, most importantly, life improvements throughout hospitals and essentially save more lives.
Based on the above article, what are your thoughts on the two different types of infection control products?
More details on the entire Nine Group range can be found on our Medi9 products