Healthcare housekeeping in pandemic … a matter of care!

We have all seen it on television. Staff in hospitals all over the world, fighting COVID-19 and saving people’s lives. Hassan Ismail Mayet – President of Alipore Social Welfare Trust in Indiaruns an 80-bedded hospital in India and he recently wrote an article describing how his housekeeping team worked their way through the pandemic.

First of all, the organisation was faced with a lot of absenteeism amongst cleaning staff during the pandemic. However, thanks to good counselling and managing by department heads the people were encouraged to come work and keep the hospital clean. There were three departments for isolation: Covid Suspect, Covid Patients and Covid ICU. The staff who worked in these departments daily received incentives and support. These teams were also kept in isolation, frequently tested and received good and healthy food.

Then, hygiene procedures were intensified in the wards, passages and washrooms. Although this resulted in a higher cleaning-related expenditure, it proved to be worth it. It gives confidence to doctors, nurses, patients and visitors. Conclusion: although higher hygiene costing may be a barrier, the long term needs to be taken into consideration. Without compromise!