Prioritising Patient Care Through Infection Prevention By Alan Wright, Managing Director, Bio-Rite

It has been estimated that the UK population will rise by almost 10 million over the next 25 years.  The office for National Statistics predicts that Britain’s society will continue ageing, with more than one in 12 people aged 80 or over by 2039.  With resources in the NHS already stretched the media have reported on some major failings in recent years.  However, our healthcare system faces challenges on a daily basis with ward overcrowding and patients occupying corridors a commonplace occurrence.  In an age of austerity, it seems, these issues are only set to continue.

When it comes to infection control, if correct decontamination procedures cannot be adhered to easily, overcrowding in our hospitals can increase the risk of the spread of common pathogens such as MRSA, C.Difficile or Norovirus.  In a bygone era, wards would follow a rotation arrangement where the free ward could be cleaned thoroughly and decontaminated while it was empty.  These days however, this is not possible and staff need to decontaminate beds and areas quickly so they can be back in use with the minimum of delay. The management of scarce resources has become an everyday challenge.

Outsourcing certain services such as decontamination is one way to cope with a growing number of patients. This approach can let nursing staff focus on their primary role of patient care.

As a group, Bio-Rite has over 40 years’ experience in decontamination and infection control management working with clients including the NHS, Local Authorities, care and nursing homes and demand for our services continues to grow. By partnering with healthcare professionals, Bio-Rite has developed a clear operational strategy to enable organisations meet prescribed performance indicators and in-turn make a significant contribution to providing the best infection free environment for vulnerable patients.  

As well as the NHS, care homes also represent an important area of our work. Some of this relates to educating staff as well as providing our decontamination through our network of fully trained franchisees. It continues to be a concern that some institutions simply ‘wipe over’ used care equipment, however, this is not a sufficient procedure to control most pathogens effectively.

Bio-Rite is one of the few companies in the UK that is able to offer a range of products and services that are needed to ensure an infection free healthcare environment.  As one of the leading suppliers in the UK to NHS hospitals and other healthcare environments such as ambulances, private hospitals, care/nursing homes and sports facilities, over 250 hospital ward decontaminations have successfully been performed by our team over the last 6 years. Using specialised equipment including Hydrogen Peroxide Vapour (HPV) technology we can decontaminate areas that are infected or are prone to infection and our service has been proven in over 40 NHS hospitals across the UK.  

Our service combines the best practices involved with both manual and mechanical disinfection techniques while taking advantage of the very latest advances in safe and effective decontamination technology, this approach is un-matched in the industry.  As a result, we deliver a decontamination solution that is flexible, comprehensive and cost effective to our many clients who rely on us to deliver day-in and day-out.  

From our ISO9001 accredited facility in Alton, Hampshire we are now extending our services throughout the UK  Our aim is to continue to make a valuable contribution to society by recruiting and training more dedicated franchisees to help continue to make a significant impact on reducing infection within our UK institutions for the benefit of patient safety.  

The Bio-Rite franchise has been already pre-approved by leading UK banks for up to 60% lending.  This can be a great help for those keen to start a Bio-Rite franchise.  Bio-Rite is also a British Franchise Association (bfa) Provisional Member and staff and franchisees are also members of the Infection Prevention Society (IPS).  So if you are interested in prioritising patient care through infection prevention then for further information please visit here