Housekeeping staff in hospitals and healthcare facilities are constantly exposed to blood and other potentially infectious materials. If you are working in the housekeeping department, it is important to take precautionary measures to protect yourself from blood borne pathogens that are common in contaminated work environments. If you are trained in clean up and disposal of bio hazardous wastes, you can minimize or prevent risk of infection.

Blood Borne Housekeeping Issues And Solutions

– Issue- Hepatitis B virus can survive for up to seven days in dried blood in contaminated surfaces, needles and other sharp instruments.

Solution- The best solution to prevent or minimize the risk is to use appropriate disinfectants and sterilizers. Proper training should be given by your employer to clean up the contaminated surfaces. You should use personal protective equipment while performing cleaning and decontaminating tasks. You should clean up blood spilled or splashed on the surface before applying the disinfectant. You should bend, break or shear needles and other sharps that are contaminated.

– Issue- You may be exposed to blood or potentially infectious body fluids through contact with contaminated protective coverings, glassware and reusable containers.

Solution- You must first remove protective covering like aluminum foil and plastic wrap carefully and replace them, once your duty is over. Broken glassware may be contaminated, so you should not pick them directly with hands. Instead use forceps, tongs and dustpan to remove and discard them. Bins, cans and other reusable containers are more likely to be infected with blood and other bodily fluids. They should be decontaminated on a regular basis. If there is any visible contamination, you should clean and decontaminate them immediately.

– Issue- You may be exposed to blood and body fluids while handling contaminated laundry

Solution- You should clean up contaminated laundry at a location different from the place where it was used. Then transfer them for decontamination in bags that are labeled properly. Treat blood and other body fluid while handling laundry, as if they were contaminated. If the soiled laundry is not contaminated with blood or potentially infectious body fluids, you may rinse them in utility rooms.

– Issue- Sharps may be left in bedding and sent to the laundry accidentally.

Solution- Many housekeeping employees are exposed to contaminated blood and body fluids, due to lack of training in proper handling and disposing of sharps. The best solution for this issue is to implement engineering controls and work practice. Employees must learn how to dispose sharps in a proper manner. The containers used to dispose sharps must be closed, leak proof and puncture resistant. They should be labeled with the biohazard symbol. This helps minimize exposure to blood and potentially infectious materials. The containers should be replaced on a regular basis. You must be well trained in moving containers in which contaminated sharps are disposed.

Blood borne pathogens housekeeping training can help eliminate or minimize exposure to blood and body fluids that are potentially infectious. Training also teaches you proper hand washing technique which in turn prevents spread of infection.

For more information, please visit our bloodborne pathogens website.

For more information, please visit our bloodborne pathogens website http://www.bbpexams.com/

Author Bio: For more information, please visit our bloodborne pathogens website.

Category: Advice
Keywords: Housekeeping,training,engineering controls ,Blood Borne Pathogens