Hospital housekeeping, also known as hospital cleaning, aims to sustain a sterile environment in all areas of the hospital by implementing high standards of cleanliness. Good hospital housekeeping practices, such as terminal cleaning of high-risk areas and routine cleaning of high-touch surfaces, can prevent the spread of hospital-acquired infections and increase patient safety.
Hospital housekeepers and hospital housekeeping officers should take advantage of mobile-ready hospital housekeeping checklists to effectively perform routine cleaning, monitor terminal cleaning, and promote consistent quality of cleanliness. This article features:
- crucial areas of hospital housekeeping;
- hospital housekeeping app to effectively perform routine cleaning; and
- free hospital housekeeping checklists you can download, customize, and use.
Hospital Housekeeping Crucial Areas
Enforcing an effective hospital housekeeping program begins by classifying different hospital areas by varying need for cleaning. Hospital housekeeping officers should determine the frequency, level, and method of cleaning based on the risks a specific area poses to patients, staff, and visitors. Here are the crucial areas hospital housekeepers should take note of:
High-risk Areas
Operating rooms, intensive care units, and isolation wards require cleaning and intermediate level of disinfection once every two hours and spot cleaning as requested. Other patient care areas and facilities such as the emergency room, central sterile supply department, and renal dialysis facility entail cleaning with soap and detergent and disinfection with alcohol and aldehyde compounds. High-risk areas should be routinely monitored by the hospital administrator and evaluated by hospital housekeeping officers at least once a week.
High-touch Surfaces
All surfaces in the hospital harbor potentially pathogenic microorganisms, but high-touch surfaces in patient rooms should be prioritized to maintain high standards of cleanliness. Hospital housekeepers should identify high-touch surfaces by the type of activity involved and the frequency of contact with a contaminated surface. Bed handrails, door handles, and light switches have frequent contact with hands and should be cleaned more often than minimal contact surfaces such as walls, mirrors, and window sills.
Hospital Housekeeping App
iAuditor, the world’s most powerful inspection checklist app, can help hospital housekeepers, hospital housekeeping officers, and health and safety officers maintain high levels of environmental sanitation, reduce the opportunity for transmission of hospital-acquired infections, and increase patient safety. With the iAuditor mobile app, you can:
- Create mobile-ready hospital housekeeping checklists. Request a demo.
- Send real-time notifications of scheduled hospital housekeeping
- Capture photo evidence of cleaned patient rooms and high-touch surfaces
- Automatically generate and share hospital housekeeping reports to members of the organization. Preview sample report.
- Use for free with small teams. Unlimited reports and storage for premium accounts.
