Weston Area Health NHS Trust has enhanced its rigorous infection prevention strategy by switching to the Vernacare single-use system of human waste disposal.
Vernacare's single-use system replaces traditional re-usable urinals, bedpans and wash bowls with disposable hygienic containers made from renewable natural fibre. These disintegrate after use when placed in Vernacare’s environmentally-friendly Vortex disposal machines.
The trust previously used Vernacare's single-use disposal products on three wards and has now adopted the system across all of its 12 wards at Weston General Hospital.
This method is accepted as global best practice because it reduces cross-infection risk and avoids the inconvenience of using clinical waste or chemical disinfection.
Since completion of the installation the trust has seen a significant reduction in Clostridium difficile cases – and there have been no Norovirus outbreaks.
Selena Luff, lead infection prevention and control nurse, said: "The move to toileting and washing immobile patients using single-use products is now much cleaner and more efficient.
“The Vortex machines process waste in two minutes, compared to 10 minutes with the old system, which means we can dispose of it almost immediately. The Vortex machines also operate with a foot sensor control, so touching the lid is no longer necessary, further reducing the risk of cross-infection.
"We have also moved used linen, clinical and domestic waste out of the sluice areas into a central waste area situated centrally within the hospital, which has really made a difference.”