Problem

Hands hygiene in hospitals is critical to prevent infections, specially in critical care units. Gloves, masks, coats and soaps are there to help prevent these infections. Materials need to be made available to healthcare professionals (HCPs) before and after each interaction with the patient. This is not always the case, which leads to a lack of compliance with standardized protocols which then increases the risk of infections.

Solution

• Multimodal  furniture that includes all the safety elements required for hands hygiene and healthcare professionals’ protection in the entrance of the box.

• Addition of a RFID (radiofrequency identification) that identifies if a person has used the materials and complied with the hand hygiene protocol and does not open the door to the room until the protocol is completed.

• Detachable design of the furniture for easy maintenance and cleaning.

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Encountered challenges

Glove, caps and clothes’ boxes change sizes depending on brands and updates, which may not always fit in the space designed for it.

 The furniture must contain all the electronic devices used for the RFID entrance control. It is difficult to make the electronics accessible in case of maintenance while not being visible to the public and to fit everything in the furniture design.

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Impact

Satisfaction levels among HCPs have improved.

We see an increase in the number of Personal Protective Equipment used and a higher level of compliance with hands hygiene protocols among HCPs.