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SC Johnson Professional™ highlights importance of skin health as part of Glove Awareness Week
18/04/2019 10:54:00 +00:00
SC Johnson Professional™ – the leading manufacturer of cleaning and skincare products – is raising awareness of the importance of skin health as part of their collaboration with The Royal College of Nursing’s (RCN) Glove Awareness Week, which starts on Monday 29th April.
Leading into World Hand Hygiene Day on Sunday 5th May, The RCN’s Glove Awareness Week highlights the importance of skin health and appropriate glove use to all nurses, midwives, health practitioner members, students, and healthcare organisations worldwide.
Throughout the campaign, SC Johnson Professional™ will be collaborating with The RCN to help promote correct glove use and hand hygiene compliance within the healthcare industry, and raise awareness of preventing, recognising and managing work-related dermatitis.
Throughout the healthcare sector, glove use has become a key aspect of ward culture and is considered to be an important control measure for protecting both patients and staff. Yet inappropriate glove use can often lead to hand dermatitis – a painful condition that affects one in five nurses, and may require nursing staff to be moved out of clinical areas due to the risk of infection from damaged skin.
Inappropriate glove use, whether it’s over or under use, can place staff and patients at risk of contact dermatitis, infection, and missed opportunities for hand hygiene.
While gloves help to create a barrier between germs or bodily fluids and hands, the prolonged use of gloves can lead to a lack of hand hygiene compliance, resulting in the spread of infection between patients and staff, and the passing of germs from one patient to the next.
In addition, if workers develop dermatitis, they are less likely to clean their hands due to the pain, thus resulting in the spread of infection further.
Paul Jakeway, Marketing Director at SC Johnson Professional™, says: “ Continued pressure on the NHS and healthcare staff to meet challenging performance targets, rising populations, higher bed occupancy levels and the need to treat and discharge patients quickly, all collide to create a high-pressured environment where the risk of healthcare-associated infections is an ever-present, but still avoidable, threat.
“Given the risks to patient health and mortality, and the consequential financial and reputational costs to hospital and healthcare bodies because of infections, the need to address hand hygiene compliance is evident.”
As part of Glove Awareness Week, The Royal College of Nursing will be hosting a one-day event on Thursday 2nd May to challenge, celebrate and debate the use of gloves as part of the delivery of health and care in all settings.
For more information about SC Johnson Professional™, visit www.scjohnson.com/en-gb and to find out more about Glove Awareness Week, go to www.rcn.org.uk/get-involved/campaign-with-us/glove-awareness
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Caring for hands in the community
22/02/2019 10:21:51 +00:00
SC Johnson Professional, the makers of the Cutan Hand Hygiene range, are one of the world’s leading manufacturers of occupational skin care products, with many years experience in the healthcare market.
The Cutan hand hygiene product range encourages ‘best practice’ to achieve safe and acceptable levels of staff and patient care, through the use of a 3-step Hand Hygiene Procedure
Step 1 – Hand Washing
Step 2 – Hand Sanitising
Step 3 – Skin ConditioningFor healthcare practitioners working in the community, SC Johnson Professional have created a portable hand hygiene solution based on the 3-step Hand Hygiene principle; The SC Johnson Professional Hand Hygiene Kit.
Portable, lightweight and convenient, the machine washable bag contains 150ml Cutan Gentle Wash, 400 ml Cutan Foam Hand Sanitiser and 150ml Cutan Moisurising Cream and is large enough to accommodate gloves and paper towels.
For further information and advice on the Cutan range, please email enquiry@scj.com or contact SC Johnson Professional Technical Services Hotline 01773 880367.
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SC Johnson Professional™ starts 2019 with award success
13/02/2019 14:51:00 +00:00
SC Johnson Professional™ has been selected as a finalist for a major industry award, the Tomorrow’s Cleaning Award.
Now in its eighth year, the Tomorrow’s Cleaning Awards celebrate 50 of the cleaning industry’s finest innovations and time-tested solutions.
We are truly proud that our POWER FOAMS range has been selected in the top 50 as it emphasises the innovation, quality and dedication that has gone into developing a skin care solution for workers.
Our high-performance foam hand cleansers ensure there’s no trade-off between a powerful product and one that cares for the skin.
You can vote for us as your winner by visiting:
https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/TCAwards19
In addition to this, we are also delighted announce that we will be taking home the award for Best Skincare & Hand Hygiene Solutions Provider in the 2018 Build Facilities Management Awards.
We’re looking forward to what 2019 has in store and continuing to develop our products and solutions to ensure skin care remains a priority.
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Keep your skin healthy this winter
03/12/2018 10:16:00 +00:00In the winter, Healthcare workers are more likely to suffer from skin issues, with studies showing that they have a much higher prevalence of dry skin than any other profession[1].
The use of moisturising creams plays a vital role during the winter months, enabling Healthcare workers to maintain healthy skin and continue best practice in performing hand hygiene.
Ensuring best practice
Hand cleaning with soap or sanitiser is crucial all year round but in the winter months, when there is more exposure to people catching colds, performing hand hygiene is the most effective way to prevent their spread.
However, in the winter months, an increased risk of dry skin means that some Healthcare workers can find it difficult to wash their hands as they may feel discomfort.
This can result in a reduced compliance in accordance with the World Health Organisation (WHO) 5 Moments for Hand Hygiene. In turn, this can put patients at risk and increase the spread of infections further.
Implementing an integrated skin care and hand hygiene approach
While washing hands regularly can dry and irritate the hands further, implementing hand hygiene products with added moisturising properties can help prevent dryness and irritation.
It’s also important that moisturising creams are provided which will effectively replenish the skin, allowing staff to continue to perform hand hygiene without having to worry about their hands being sore.
Deb Skin Care offers 3 stages of moisturising cream options to suit different skin types, all of which will keep the skin moist and supple. Healthcare staff should be encouraged to use creams during breaks and in the evenings to keep hands in a healthy condition.
Level 1 – Normal Skin
Products that ensure skin stays in a good condition and prevents dryness from repeated washing.
Level 2 – Dry & Stressed Skin
Staff with skin sensitivities or already dry and stressed skin will require products that are dye and perfume-free so this should be considered when providing a moisturising cream for them.
Level 3 – Very Dry & Stressed Skin
For Healthcare workers that are suffering with severe skin issues, they will require a specialist skin repair cream that is specially formulated to nurture and regenerate damaged, very dry and stressed skin.
Make healthy hands a priority this winter
The importance of moisturising creams is vital so that Healthcare workers can take care of their skin and continue best practice in hand hygiene. If left untreated, it can be a hindrance to them and their job.
In addition to moisturising creams, placing posters in and around settings such as breakrooms, near exits and other high-visibility locations will remind staff to keep their skin healthy.
With a recent report[2] revealing that there are “clear warning signs” that the coming winter could be even tougher than the last for NHS England, we must ensure regular use of moisturising creams is front of mind this winter. To download Deb’s free resources, visit www.debgroup.com/uk/education-support/resources/sector/healthcare-2
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Deb to showcase innovative hand hygiene programme during IPS conference
20/08/2018 08:03:19 +00:00
Deb is getting ready to showcase its hand hygiene innovation at this year’s Infection Prevention Society (IPS) annual conference, the largest infection prevention and control exhibition in the UK.
Taking place from Sunday 30th September to Tuesday 2nd October at the Scottish Event Campus Centre, Glasgow, Deb will be exhibiting on stand number 140 and will be introducing its DebMed® Programme to visitors, a unique, integrated hand hygiene compliance and skin care programme that is customised to each Healthcare environment.
Visitors will have the chance to find out more about the programme, which incorporates Deb’s ground-breaking GMS™ system to electronically monitor soap and sanitiser dispensers and capture hand hygiene events, providing real-time data based on the World Health Organisation’s (WHO’s) 5-Moments of Hand Hygiene standard.
The IPS conference presents an ideal opportunity for Deb to highlight the current industry challenges, its solution to effectively capture hand hygiene events, and speak to visitors about how their hand hygiene provision could look.
Deb has recently submitted evidence to Parliament outlining the need for improvement when it comes to antimicrobial resistance and the role that hand hygiene can play. Deb will be sharing its plans with visitors and the steps that the team is taking to ensure electronic monitoring systems are implemented in Healthcare settings.
During the IPS conference, Dr John Hines, Research and Development Director at Deb will be hosting a seminar on the future of hand hygiene in the digital age. The team will also be giving out samples and goody bags to visitors to the stand.
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Deb’s New Power Foam Hand Cleaners – proven to provide workers with extra power and care
10/08/2018 12:00:00 +00:00
Industrial workers are faced with many challenging environments, often exposed to dirt and contamination on a daily basis. These conditions have led to frequent hand washing, with many workers using soaps that are too mild or too harsh for their skin.
Recent research carried out Deb identified that in addition to the need for frequent hand washing, workers felt that dispensers were often unclear or in the wrong locations and many products left their skin dry and unconditioned.
After undergoing significant testing and focus groups with workers across a number of industries, Deb has created a new range of high performance foam hand cleaners that deliver exactly what is required – a powerful clean whilst caring for the skin.
An innovation in foam soap technology, POWER FOAMS offer a solution for all industrial environments, from warehousing and logistics to heavy manufacturing. Clinically proven to care for the skin, they leave hands feeling conditioned and cared for, no matter how stubborn the dirt or challenging the environment.
With twice the cleaning performance as traditional washroom soaps and hand cleaners[1], two new POWER FOAMS, Estesol® FX™ and Solopol® GFX™ have been created to offer the optimum skin care for workers.
Responding to the issues raised in the research with workers, new dispensers have been launched to complement POWER FOAMS. Impactful, clearly labelled and intuitive, they have been designed for an industrial environment and tested with workers to confirm suitability.
The team at Deb has been working closely with workers and managers to truly understand the issues they face within their specific working environments. The priority for managers was to improve wellbeing and workplace culture but they were looking for guidance on which products were right for their environment and simply gave them the performance and care that they were looking for.
Deb are excited to be launching POWER FOAMS, offering a skin care solution for workers, no matter what industry they are in or challenge they face. The range ensures there’s no trade-off between a powerful product and one that cares for the skin.
To find out more, visit:
[1] Based on laboratory testing and end user trials, Deb Group 2018.
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Hand hygiene – the first step in tackling antimicrobial resistance
31/07/2018 15:32:00 +00:00
The rise of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is one of the biggest threats to global health in today’s world, with the current estimated cost of AMR to the NHS in excess of £180 million per annum.[1]
AMR is the ability of a microorganism (like bacteria and viruses) to stop an antimicrobial (such as antibiotics) from working against it. As a result, standard treatments become ineffective, infections persist and may spread to others.[2]
Healthcare-associated infections (HCAIs) are a typical example of germs becoming resistant to the medicines that treat them. Hundreds of thousands of patients die or are considerably affected each year by HCAIs meaning prevention of them is pivotal to slowing down the rate of AMR.
50% to 70% of HCAIs are transmitted by hands[3] and the growth in AMR could increase the severity of HCAIs further, as infections that we typically cure with antibiotics will become untreatable.
Therefore, hand hygiene and infection prevention should be the first line of defence against AMR in hospitals, but it is often overlooked. Although the 2013-2018 AMR Strategy highlighted the role of infection control in preventing AMR, the new Strategy can go further in highlighting the fundamental role that prevention plays in contributing to resistance.
In June 2018, DebMed® submitted evidence to Parliament outlining that the new strategy must re-emphasise hand hygiene as central to reducing bacterial resistance and outline clear steps to improve hand hygiene compliance in hospitals.
A failure to address the challenge of antimicrobial resistance could result in an estimated 10 million deaths every year globally by 2050 and a cost of £66 trillion in lost productivity to the global economy.[4]
Recognition alone is not sufficient. Stricter guidance must be introduced to ensure hand hygiene compliance is the first line of defence in preventing infection.
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Raising standards of hand hygiene – infection prevention in focus in recent Westminster debate
08/06/2018 08:22:00 +00:00
Hand hygiene and infection prevention is now a top priority on the Government’s agenda, after a recent Westminster debate addressed the key infection prevention issues within Healthcare settings.
The debate addressed the use of electronic monitoring systems to measure hand hygiene compliance and reduce infection rates.
All parties present addressed the flaws of direct observation and the impact that capturing inaccurate hand hygiene data has on patients and the NHS. It also focused on how technology can improve hand hygiene compliance and what actions need to be taken to reduce costs and increase patient safety within the NHS.
Andrea Jenkyns, MP for Morley and Outwood, played a key role in the debate as she continues to actively campaign to improve hand hygiene ever since losing her dad to an MRSA in 2011.
She stated: “It is important that this debate draws attention to the fact that the current system of hand hygiene monitoring in hospitals needs updating and is inaccurate and outdated. There are better monitoring systems out there. The current system allows poor hand hygiene practice to spread and can put patients’ lives at risk.”
MPs Jim Shannon and Nigel Mills, and Shadow Minister for Health and Social Care, Justin Madders, recognised the need for a change in the way that hand hygiene is measured.
Justin Madders, said: “Staff naturally wash their hands much more frequently when being observed directly, which results in clearly overstated compliance rates of 90% to 100%. Academic research has found that typical compliance is actually between 18% and 40%.”
Steven Barclay, Minister of State for the Department of Health and Social Care acknowledged the potential of electronic monitoring to reduce infection rates and save money.
Steven Barclay, said: “One theme of the debate was whether the Government are doing enough to drive forward the use of technology. I recognise the limits of direct observation and how behavioural change may respond to those. That is why the Government are actively looking at the extent to which technology can facilitate this area.”
As a result of the debate, there emerged a clear consensus from all sides of the house that hand hygiene is an important issue, direct observation is not an appropriate means of monitoring hand hygiene compliance, whilst technology offers a clear way of improving compliance and reducing infections.
John Hines, Director of Research and Development at Deb, said: “The debate proved a huge success and it was great to see MPs and Health Ministers joining forces to ensure infection prevention remains high on the Government’s list of priorities.
“Technology, if adopted in the right way, creates an opportunity to improve patient safety and reduce the £1bn cost associated with healthcare associated infections. Now it’s time to take further action by working closely with the Government to ensure more hospitals are aware of the benefits of electronic monitoring systems. We want to see such systems replacing direct observation audits, freeing nurses time and paving the way for a safer NHS.”
For more information about the Westminster debate on ‘Raising standards of infection prevention and control in the NHS’, visit: https://hansard.parliament.uk/Commons/2018-05-15/debates/395F355A-2F8A-4175-8408-D9AB8B2AA67C/InfectionPreventionAndControl
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The NEW Skin Care Best Practice Whitepaper
30/05/2018 08:18:00 +00:00
Deb is pleased to announce the release of the new 'Preventing occupational skin disorders: Skin care best practice' whitepaper, as part of the DebSafe™ programme.
Featuring contributions from leading industry experts, and workers who have been affected by occupational skin disorders (OSDs), the whitepaper puts OSDs in the spotlight, highlighting the prevailing issues facing workers and industry.
OSDs, particularly work-related hand eczema, are a serious health issue that currently go largely unreported in the workplace. The whitepaper is an insightful resource for health and safety professionals, showcasing the seriousness of the issue and offering guidance on how employers can take control through a preventative skin care programme, incorporating a new best practice standard.
The whitepaper introduces the '3-Moments of Skin Care', a new universal best practice standard for skin care and breakthrough in the fight against OSDs.
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DebMed backs WHO’s global hand hygiene campaign to raise awareness of life-threatening condition
25/04/2018 13:42:43 +00:00
Deb, the skin care division of SC Johnson Professional, and a world leader in occupational skin care and hand hygiene, has joined forces with the Private Organisations for Patient Safety (POPS) to support the World Health Organisation’s annual hand hygiene campaign – SAVE LIVES: Clean Your Hands.
Each year, the SAVE LIVES: Clean Your Hands campaign aims to progress the goal of maintaining a global profile on the importance of hand hygiene in Healthcare, and to bring people together in support of hand hygiene improvement.
With World Hand Hygiene Day landing on Saturday 5th May, DebMed will be promoting the messaging in the week leading up to, and after the official day, with a focus on ‘Preventing sepsis in Healthcare’.
Reported to affect more than 30 million people worldwide every year, sepsis is a life-threatening condition that arises when the body's response to infection causes injury to its own tissues and organs.
Depending on the infection, sepsis can affect any organ, resulting in a variety of symptoms including low blood pressure, breathlessness, slurred speech and much more.
Sepsis is responsible for 44,000 deaths each year in the UK alone, yet despite this, a recent survey found that 44% of people in the UK have never heard of sepsis and have little idea that it is a life-threatening emergency.[1]
To increase awareness of sepsis and ensure Healthcare workers are aware of the vital steps needed to prevent the spread of infection, DebMed will be supporting NHS Trusts by providing advice, free downloadable resources, a hand hygiene guide and much more.
DebMed will also be raising awareness of the WHO 5 Moments for Hand Hygiene, which recommends the key moments that Healthcare workers should clean their hands.
Paul Jakeway, Marketing Director at Deb Group, said: “Each year, Healthcare-associated infections (HCAIs) affect millions of patients across the globe. This annual campaign truly raises awareness of the issues that Trusts face day in and day out but more importantly, what actions hospitals need to take to tackle this issue.
“We’re delighted to be showing our support to WHO and raising awareness of hand hygiene to highlight just how imperative an effective hand hygiene routine is to reduce the risk of sepsis.”
Professor Didier Pittet at WHO Collaborating Centre on Patient Safety, added: “HCAIs and infections acquired during Healthcare delivery are common, and are a risk factor for developing sepsis but we can prevent this and effective hand hygiene plays a key role. On World Hand Hygiene Day, the focus for everyone should be on the prevention of sepsis in Healthcare.”
[1] https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2017/sep/18/sepsis-the-truth-ab...