What is NO2 and How Does it Impact Health?

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NO2 is nitrous dioxide. It’s a chemical compound that’s mainly formed in the combustion of fossil fuels, and during certain industrial processes.

In this post we’ll discuss the health impact of NO2, and explore some ways you can improve the air quality in your hospital or healthcare setting.

What Are The Health Risks of NO2 Exposure?

In the short-term, exposure to NO2 can cause inflammation of the airways. This can increase a person’s susceptibility to respiratory infections and allergens. For patients suffering from lung and heart conditions, exposure to NO2 can make existing symptoms worse.

NO2 can also react with oxygen in the atmosphere to form ozone. Ozone gas can trigger asthma attacks, respiratory conditions, and inflammation of the eyes, nose and throat.

Long-term Exposure to NO2 Risks

Long-term exposure to NO2 can cause edema, a build-up of fluid in the lungs, leading to bronchitis or pneumonia. Exposure to large amounts of NO2 can be fatal.

Where Does NO2 Come From?

Along with PM2.5, PM10 and other harmful pollutants, NO2 is largely the product of road traffic.

But though NO2 is primarily created by external activity, there are still exposure risks even for people who spend the majority of their time indoors. A 2011 study suggested that improvements to building insulation can result in a greater retention of indoor pollutants such as NO2.

NO2 as an Issue for Hospitals and Healthcare Settings

Most hospitals are located near busy roads, and some are situated close to major industrial areas. As a result, one study found that 25% of hospitals are located in areas with dangerously high air pollution levels.

Due to improvements to car engines and certain other measures, atmospheric NO2 levels have fallen significantly both in the long-term and in recent years. Hospitals can further reduce the levels in their local area through enforcing strict onsite traffic calming measures.

But as we’ve seen, even a small amount of exposure to NO2 can carry a serious health risk, particularly for patients with heart and lung conditions. So hospitals and other healthcare settings should act to improve their indoor air quality.

Improving The Air Quality in Hospitals and Healthcare Settings

An air quality consultation can help hospitals identify the exposure risks to harmful and hazardous air pollutants such as NO2 for staff and patients alike. Following the consultation, hospitals will have a better idea of the measures they can take to manage the risks.

A hospital grade air purifier can help you quickly and thoroughly improve the air quality in your hospital or healthcare setting.

Our Blueair HealthProtectTM air purifiers are fitted with advanced HEPASilent technology. This is capable of catching 99.97% of particles down to 0.1 microns, which includes NO2 gas molecules. Even a small air purifier can completely cycle the air in a room once every 12.5 minutes.

But at the same time, they’ll capture many other hazardous and toxic air pollutants, including particulate matter, microplastics, smoke, dust, and VOCs. And crucially for a hospital, they can also capture and kill 99% of viruses, bacteria, and other microorganisms.

Take a look at our specialist air purification systems for hospitals.

VOCs in Hospitals – Causes, Effects and Solutions

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VOC stands for volatile organic compounds. This is a group of thousands of chemicals, many of which are colourless and odourless.

Depending on the setting, at any one time there could be hundreds of individual VOCs in the air. Though some will be innocuous, many carry certain health risks.

Sources of VOCs

Some VOCs are created by biological processes. Certain plants can produce moulds and other spores, for example. But the majority of VOCs in our atmosphere come from everyday products used in domestic, commercial and healthcare settings.

VOCs might be caused by combustion, such as smoking cigarettes, cooking, or burning candles. They’re found in many paints, air fresheners, cosmetics and cleaning products. They’re also produced by certain electronic devices, such as photocopiers and printers.

VOCs and Indoor Air Quality – What Are the Risks?

Concentrations of VOC in the indoor atmosphere can lead to “sick building syndrome”. In short, this means that simply existing in the building can lead to a number of health conditions.

The health risks VOCs pose depend on their concentration – how many of them are in the air, and how often do we breathe this air? Short-term exposure to high concentrations can result in:

  • Headaches
  • Nausea
  • Eyes, nose and throat irritation
  • Exacerbation of allergies, asthma, and respiratory conditions

Long-term chronic exposure to VOCs can increase the risk of liver and kidney damage, and even certain cancers.

VOC Levels in Hospitals

VOCs can be particularly prevalent in hospitals and healthcare settings as a by-product of anaesthetic medication and antiseptic solutions. Common VOCs in hospitals include isoflurane, Nitrous Oxide, sevoflurane, chlorine, and formaldehyde.

In one study, more than 40 VOCs were found across six sample sites in a French teaching hospital. The sample sites included a reception hall, a patient room, nursing care, a post-anaesthesia care unit, a parasitology-mycology laboratory, and a flexible endoscope disinfection unit.

Though we’re all at risk to the harmful effects of VOCs, hospitals in particular should work to fight the threat. Both staff and patients will spend long hours, or even days or weeks, in hospital buildings. So if there are any VOCs in the atmosphere, the exposure levels are likely to be high.

Also, many hospital patients have pre-existing heart, lung, and kidney conditions. VOCs could exacerbate their symptoms, or even make their conditions worse.

Ventilation is Key to Managing VOC Concentrations

If you want to address the VOC levels in your hospital, it helps to know the scale of the problem, and the key areas to address. An air quality consultation will help you identify the VOC levels and the exposure risks for staff and patients alike. Following the consultation, you’ll get a detailed report and actionable advice on the measures you can take to reduce VOC concentrations.

A hospital grade air purifier can help you quickly and thoroughly improve the air quality in your hospital or healthcare setting. Our Blueair HealthProtect air purifiers are fitted with advanced HEPASilent technology. This is capable of catching 99.97% of particles down to 0.1 microns, which includes VOC gases.

Take a look at our specialist air purification systems for hospitals.

 

Examples of Continuity of Care in GP Surgeries

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If you manage or work in a GP surgery, continuity of care can make a huge difference to your patients’ experience and their overall wellbeing.

In this post, we’ll explain what continuity of care is in a GP setting, before exploring some of the policies and procedures that will help you deliver a higher quality of care to your patients.

What Is Continuity of Care?

Continuity of care is a strategy for making primary care local, accessible and familiar. It’s all about building strong and ongoing relationships between GPs and patients. At the heart of continuity of care is the idea that patients should see the same GP as often as possible.

For patients, this means that their care will be personalised, and focused on their unique needs and circumstances.

Continuity of care means that the GP develops a deep understanding of the patient and their medical history. As a result, the GP can make more informed diagnoses, and patients can better trust their GP’s advice and judgement.

Management Continuity

In delivering continuity of care, management continuity is just as important as relationship continuity. This means ensuring effective information sharing and co-ordination of services when a patient receives care from more than one clinician or provider.

On a fundamental level, continuity of care means that a patient will regularly consult the same GP so that they can develop a stronger therapeutic relationship.

Yet continuity of care goes deeper than this. Due to a number of factors, it’s not always possible for patients to see the same GP at every visit. The considerable NHS backlog, coupled with patients’ needs and expectations for fast access, means that patients often need to see whichever GP is available.

What Does Continuity of Care Look Like in Practice?

Here are some principles that can help GP practices work towards continuity of care:

  • Access arrangements – When booking appointments, patients often have to make a choice between seeing their regular GP, or getting a faster consultation. At the front desk, patients should be advised on the benefits of continuity, even if this sometimes means waiting longer for appointments.
  • Transparency – Clinics should be open about the availability of their clinicians for different types of consultation. They should publish the clinic’s policy on continuity of care, and make this policy accessible to staff and patients alike.
  • Consultations – The emphasis should be on quality, rather than quantity. There should be sufficient time in the consultations for the sort of interactions that lead to a productive therapeutic relationship.
  • Management continuity – All healthcare providers make relevant patient information readily available, with established routines for handovers and information exchanges. Providers make personal contact between each other, with proactive follow-ups on patients following procedures or health events.

Should Continuity of Care Still be a Priority?

If the NHS is facing a backlog, and if patients must routinely wait for consultations, does it still make sense to promote continuity of care?

As part of a 2010 inquiry into the quality of general practice in England, The King’s Trust conducted a consultation of continuity of care and the patient experience.

Their consultation found that the strong therapeutic relationships created by continuity of care result in:

  • Increased levels of patient satisfaction.
  • Greater morale among staff at all levels.
  • Reduced costs.
  • Better health outcomes.

So though the current emphasis might be on reducing the backlog, continuity of care may still be the most effective and sustainable strategy for maintaining good care quality standards.

We Can Help You Improve Standards in Your GP Clinic

We offer a range of products, services and solutions that will contribute to better care quality standards in your GP clinic.

Get in touch to discuss how we can help you make your healthcare setting safer and more efficient for staff and patients alike.

 

Occupational Health Hazards for Nurses and How to Prevent Them

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Hospitals and healthcare settings can be hazardous environments to work in. Nurses face multiple occupational health hazards every day – some obvious, others not so obvious.

In this post we’ll list some common occupational health hazards for nurses, and how to prevent them.

Slip, Trip and Fall Hazards in Hospitals

Slips, trips and falls are an occupational health hazard in most, if not all, working environments. And hospitals and healthcare settings are no exception. The difference is that slips, trips and falls in the healthcare sector can be particularly dangerous.

If nurses slip or trip while carrying delicate medical equipment, sharp instruments, hazardous samples or substances, or even trays of food, then they could cause some serious harm to themselves and others.

There may also be more slipping and tripping hazards in healthcare settings than in other workplaces, including spilled fluids, dropped or discarded gowns, clothing or bedding, and devices and equipment left out of place.

The Solution

Thorough and comprehensive cleaning procedures can ensure that tripping and slipping hazards are addressed before they cause any problems. Fluid management is an important area of focus. Unless spills are cleaned as soon as possible, surfaces can remain slippery for hours.

We stock a range of spill kits to help hospitals address chemical and cytotoxic spills promptly, thoroughly, and effectively.

We also stock absorbent floor mats for better fluid management during procedures. Capable of absorbing up to 8.5 litres of water and 3.5 litres of saline, they gel liquids and become dry to the touch. So they immediately remove slipping hazards in surgical environments. And following the procedure, you can simply dispose of them, allowing for faster cleaning and swifter turnaround times.

Infection & Contamination Hazards for Nurses

Nurses work very closely with both staff and patients, and they regularly provide support during treatments and procedures. So there’s a constant risk of infection from coughs, sneezes, and other bodily fluids. And if nurses become contaminated, there’s the risk they’ll pass on these infections to other, more vulnerable patients.

But these aren’t the only infection and contamination risks in healthcare settings. Nurses must also consider bacteria, viruses and other organisms lingering on clothing and surfaces; VOCs and other chemicals; particulate matter from outside sources; and radiation from certain devices and procedures.

The Solution

Standard infection control precautions can help nurses and other healthcare workers prevent and control infection risks at all levels. Precautions include thorough cleaning protocols and procedures; standards for PPE; good hand hygiene; cough and sneeze etiquette, and more.

Air quality consultations can also help nurses identify the sort of infection and contamination risks they might face, and the measures they can take to overcome them.

Finally, hospital-grade air purifiers can remove many of the common contaminants and harmful substances found in hospital air, including viruses, bacteria, microplastics, VOCs, particulate matter, and more. Our range of air purifiers for the healthcare sector can catch up to 99.97% of particles down to 0.1 microns.

Heavy Lifting in Healthcare Settings

Heavy lifting is another occupational risk that’s found in almost all healthcare settings. But once again, the risk for nurses can be particularly high. This is due to the sorts of items and objects that nurses might be required to move, from vulnerable patients to expensive and delicate medical devices.

Nurses risk sprains and back injuries whenever they move heavy objects. But if they struggle and falter while moving a vulnerable patient, there’s a risk of concussion, broken bones, or even death.

The Solution

Adequate training in safe lifting techniques can help nurses manage these risks. Hospitals and healthcare settings should also have procedures and protocols in place for moving vulnerable patients. These might include using wheelchairs, stretchers and trolleys wherever possible, and never attempting to move a patient without assistance.

Stress and Exhaustion

There’s no denying that nursing is a tough job. Nurses face life and death situations every day. They work long hours while under considerable pressure, and often for insufficient pay. And as the NHS is currently facing a treatment backlog and a series of strikes and industrial action, it seems like things have never been more difficult for nurses and other healthcare workers.

All of this pressure is going to take its toll. Stress and exhaustion can be harmful in itself. But in the long-term, constant stress and exhaustion can lead to a number of other more serious health conditions.

The Solution

Government plans to tackle the NHS backlog might reduce some of the pressures that nurses face in their roles. But even without the current issues the NHS faces, stress and exhaustion have been occupational hazards in the healthcare sector for years.

The Health Foundation issues a series of recommendations for fixing some of the problems the NHS is currently facing. They suggested that increasing staff numbers could increase hospitals’ capacity, which could mean shorter working hours and reduced workloads for nurses. They also suggested on-the-job mental health and wellbeing support for healthcare staff.

Addressing Occupational Health Hazards for Nurses

From spill kits to infection control services, we offer a range of products and solutions that will help you address many of the occupational health hazards nurses face.

Get in touch to discuss how we can help you make your healthcare setting safer and more efficient for staff and patients alike.

Doctors Surgery Waiting Room Improvement Ideas

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A good doctor’s surgery waiting room should be warm and welcoming. But it’s a lot more important that it’s safe and functional.

If you run a GP surgery and you want to improve your waiting room, first you need to understand some of the key problems you need to overcome.

Key Challenges for GP Waiting Rooms

  • Infection risks – There are always viruses making the rounds. Many of those who visit your waiting room will carry infection risks, or else they’ll have conditions that might make them vulnerable to infection. You need to strike a balance between keeping your patients safe without preventing anyone from receiving the care and support they need.
  • Accessibility – Some patients will have limited mobility. Some may have low literacy skills, learning disabilities, or other conditions that might make accessing and processing information difficult.
  • A warm welcome? – Very few people actively enjoy visiting their GP. Your waiting room could be a dreary and oppressive place that makes your patients feel even worse. Or it could be a warm and welcoming portal to better health, a place that immediately puts your patients at ease.

In this post, we’ll explore some doctors’ surgery waiting room improvement ideas – starting with some key practical and clinical considerations.

Infection Prevention and Control in Waiting Rooms

Good infection prevention and control should be at the heart of your waiting room’s design. And robust cleaning protocols and procedures are at the heart of good infection prevention and control.

You should weigh up the infection risk for every decision you make. For example, viruses and bacteria can spread in the fibres of carpets and curtains, but they can also live for a while on hard surfaces. So you’ll have to devise a specific cleaning protocol for every item of furniture you introduce to the waiting room, based on its material and its frequency of use.

Also, you might want to add certain items to your waiting room to keep patients occupied while they wait, such as magazines, or toys for children. But again, remember that anything that stays in your waiting room can act as a vector for infection. So if you’re providing magazines, change them as often as you can. And if you provide toys, make sure they’re easy to clean, and clean them as regularly as possible.

Read our full guide to cleaning procedures for infection prevention and control.

We also have a guide to standard infection control procedures for all healthcare settings.

Waiting Room Design Ideas for Accessibility

Some of your patients will have mobility issues. Any furniture you provide in your waiting room should account for this. Crucially, your chairs need arms so that they’re easy for patients to sit on and to stand up from. And make sure you leave room in your waiting room for wheelchair users.

Make your chairs alternating colours, and patients with dementia will find them easier to distinguish. Make your lighting bright enough that partially sighted patients will be able to read all relevant notices, but not so dazzling that your waiting room feels oppressively bright.

And remember that some patients will struggle to access or process information. For every essential pamphlet, leaflet, form, poster, or notice you provide, you should make alternative versions available. At the very least, you should provide easy-read versions for patients with learning disabilities and braille versions for patients with a visual impairment.

How to Make a Waiting Room Warm and Welcoming

Making your waiting room as warm and welcoming as possible without compromising on infection prevention and control, and accessibility can be tricky. You need to think of ways you can make the room welcoming without adding to your staff’s workloads too.

You could add plants, which can have a calming effect on anyone. But do your staff have the capacity to look after these plants? Have you thought about pollen, and other potentially harmful emissions from plant life?

You could paint the walls a soothing colour, but not all colours are soothing to all people. And you can hang artwork to add light, life and colour to the room. But artwork can be pricey. And again, different images can mean vastly different things to different people.

You could play some music in your waiting room to set a positive mood, or to help patients relax. Though bear in mind you’ll need a licence to play anything other than commercial radio. You could also place a TV in your waiting room. This will keep some patients occupied while they wait. But some broadcasts, such as rolling news coverage, may only serve to increase patients’ anxiety.

Ultimately, there’s no accounting for taste. How you choose to decorate your waiting room might depend on your specific patient demographic. So why not ask for feedback? Talk to your staff, and as many patients as you can, to get some insights into the sort of ideas that would help make your waiting room a more pleasant place to wait.

A Breath of Fresh Air

Work to improve the air quality in your waiting room and you can contribute to good infection prevention and control.

Medical grade air purifiers can remove up to 99.97% of hazardous and toxic air pollutants, including particulate matter, microplastics, smoke, dust, and VOCs – along with bacteria, viruses, and other microorganisms.

So even a small air purifier can quickly and effectively reduce the levels of airborne contaminants in your waiting room. But at the same time, they’ll fill every corner of your waiting room with pure air, so the very atmosphere of your surgery will feel noticeably cleaner and fresher.

Read more about how an air purifier can help you prevent and control infections while contributing to your patients’ overall wellbeing.

We Can Help You Improve Your GP Clinic Waiting Room

From air purifiers to advanced cleaning solutions, we offer a range of products and services that will help you make your waiting room safer, cleaner and more welcoming for both staff and patients.

Get in touch to discuss how we can help you make fast and effective improvements to your GP clinic waiting room.

 

Ways to Prevent Infection During Chemotherapy Treatments

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Chemotherapy can lower a patient’s white blood cell count. Cancers can also make existing white blood cells less effective at fighting bacteria and viruses.

This means that, for chemotherapy patients, even common infections can be much harder to treat, and a lot more dangerous – or even fatal.

In this post we’ll discuss some ways to prevent infection during chemotherapy treatments. To begin with, we’ll explore some of the precautions patients can take to prevent infection during their chemotherapy. We’ll then look at the measures hospitals and healthcare settings can take to prevent and control infection among their most vulnerable patients.

Ways to Prevent Infection During Chemotherapy – For Patients

First, let’s take a look at some of the precautions chemotherapy patients could take to reduce their infection risk.

These are all general ideas for how you can lower your risk of infection. Consult your oncologist for expert advice that’s tailored to you and your needs.

Avoid Crowds or Certain Locations

While undergoing chemotherapy, your oncologist may advise you to avoid crowds, particularly during peak flu seasons. Infections spread more easily in crowded enclosed spaces than they do in outdoor spaces.

Depending on your white blood cell count, your oncologist might advise you to avoid specific locations and situations, such as public transport, supermarkets, cinemas, and so on. They may also advise you on precautions you can take if you do need to go to a crowded place, such as wearing PPE.

Also, for the duration of your chemotherapy, you should avoid spending time with anyone who might carry an infection risk – even if they’re your closest relatives. Sick people could pass on an infection to you. But there’s also the risk that you’ll pass on an infection to them.

Dietary Risks

Food can be a major source of infection. Throughout your chemotherapy, you should take extra precautions around the food you eat:

  • Don’t share plates or cutlery with others.
  • Inspect all fruit and vegetables for signs of spoiling, and thoroughly wash all produce before you eat it.
  • Make sure that any meat, seafood, and eggs you eat are fully cooked.
  • Avoid eating out, especially at buffets where food is left out for hours.
  • Avoid eating some foods entirely, including honey, sushi, blue cheese, and brie.

Pets and Animals

Some infections can be transmitted from animals to people.

Toxoplasmosis is the major risk you’ll face during your chemotherapy.

If you have a cat, you should avoid changing their litter for the duration of your treatment. If you have to change their litter, wear gloves while you do so, and wash your hands thoroughly afterwards.

And speaking of cats, it’s a good idea to keep them indoors during your treatment. They could pick up all sorts of pathogens while they’re out, particularly if they catch any birds or mice.

If you have a dog, ask someone else to walk them. Or at the very least, wear gloves when picking up their droppings, and use hand sanitiser immediately afterwards.

Finally, don’t get any new animals during your treatment, especially not young animals. Not only are they more likely to carry infections, they’re also a lot of work. And during your chemotherapy, you’ll want to take things as easy as possible.

Ways to Prevent Infection During Chemotherapy Treatment – For Hospitals

Chemotherapy patients can take precautions to lower their risk of infection during chemotherapy. But hospitals also have a responsibility to prevent and control infection among all of their patients, particularly the most vulnerable ones.

To achieve this, all healthcare staff must follow the 10 standard infection control precautions. These include:

  • Patient placement, and assessing a patient’s infection risk. There’s a reason why chemotherapy treatments take place in a dedicated oncology department. It ensures that chemotherapy patients are kept separate from patients who might carry an infection risk.
  • Hand hygiene – All staff should thoroughly wash their hands at certain key points, including both before and after interacting with a patient and their immediate surroundings. They should also follow a specific hand cleaning technique.
  • PPE – Staff should wear the appropriate PPE for each occasion. They should also follow certain procedures for storing, putting on, taking off, and disposing of PPE.

Other Measures to Prevent Infection During Chemotherapy

Comprehensive cleaning protocols and procedures can play a huge role in preventing and controlling infection in all healthcare settings. The protocols should target the areas where infections are most likely to take hold and thrive. They should also recommend the most effective cleaning products and the correct procedures for using them.

A hospital grade air purifier can help you quickly and thoroughly improve the air quality in your oncology department, which can prevent infection from airborne pathogens.

Our Blueair HealthProtectTM air purifiers are fitted with advanced HEPASilent technology. This is capable of catching 99.97% of particles down to 0.1 microns. This includes the viruses and bacteria which carry the greatest infection risks for chemotherapy patients.

Take a look at our specialist air purification systems for hospitals.

 

Is Pollution Worse in Winter? How to Improve Indoor Air Quality

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A recent report found that over 2,000 UK health centres are located in areas with dangerously high levels of air pollution.

Air pollution can have a severe effect on hospital staff and patients. The risks are particularly high for patients from vulnerable groups, such as children and elderly people, and for patients suffering with respiratory and cardiovascular conditions.

But are these risks any higher in the colder months of the year? Is air pollution worse in winter?

Is Pollution Worse in Winter?

Air pollution levels can change on a daily and regional basis based on a number of factors. Temperature can make a difference to air pollution. Hot air rises but cold air sinks, because it’s denser. And because it’s denser, any gases or particles in the air won’t travel very far. So in the winter, any hazardous air pollutants in the atmosphere can get trapped in the slow moving blanket of cold, dry air at ground level.

Because of the effect of low temperatures, even if pollution levels are lower in the winter than they are in the summer, any pollution will stay in the air for much longer. So even if pollution isn’t necessarily worse in winter, the exposure risks can be much greater.

For a brief introduction to the factors that can affect pollution levels, take a look at our guide to the best and worst areas in the UK for air pollution.

Air Pollution Risks for Hospitals

Every winter, health trusts across the UK are pushed to breaking point as seasonal colds, flus, and other viruses make the rounds. At the same time, up to 20,200 respiratory and cardiovascular hospital admissions each year can be linked to air pollution.

So UK hospitals struggle with a huge influx of patients every winter. Any measures that could free up staff and hospital capacity can make a huge difference in ensuring that the most critical patients can get the help they need, when they need it.

And when it comes to air pollution, there are many measures that hospitals and other healthcare settings can adopt that will make a noticeable impact in the short-term, and a significant impact in the long-term.

How to Improve Indoor Air Quality in Hospitals this Winter

Certain policies can help reduce the air pollution levels on a local level, such as smoking bans and strict onsite speed limits and traffic calming measures.

However, if your hospital’s situated near a major road, or near any construction, industrial, manufacturing or agricultural centres, then onsite air pollution will remain a problem.

So you should instead focus on improving the indoor air quality in your healthcare setting:

Our Blueair HealthProtect™ air purifiers are fitted with advanced HEPASilent technology. They can catch 99.97% of particles down to 0.1 microns, including all hazardous and toxic air pollutants that can cause such a health risk for staff and patients. And crucially for a hospital, they can also capture and kill 99% of viruses and bacteria.

Take a look at our range of specialist air purification systems for hospitals and healthcare settings.

Get Expert Advice

Get in touch with the team at Cairn Technology, who have been developing cutting-edge products and services for hospitals for over 20 years.

Get in touch today

 

What is PM10 in Air Quality?

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Particulate matter (PM) is a class of air pollution covering everything in the atmosphere that isn’t a gas. This includes a huge range of chemical compounds and materials which air quality experts classify in terms of their particle size.

What is PM10?

Particulate matter containing particles with a diameter of 10 micrometres or smaller. Examples include fumes from traffic and industrial processes.

What are the Other Types of Particular Matter?

PM1 – Particulate matter containing particles with a diameter of 1 micrometre or smaller. Examples include smoke, bacteria, and pollen.

PM2.5 – Particulate matter containing particles with a diameter of 2.5 micrometres or smaller. Examples include dust and pet dander.

You can read our full guide to PM2.5 and the risks it brings.

In this post we’ll explore PM10 – its causes, its risks, and how to manage them.

Where Does PM10 Come From?

A major source of PM10 is the incomplete combustion of hydrocarbons, including coal, wood, diesel, and agricultural waste. The majority of atmospheric PM10 in the UK comes from domestic wood burning, road traffic (particularly diesel cars), vehicle tyre wear, and combustion in the manufacturing sector.

If hydrocarbons undergo complete combustion, they create carbon dioxide and water. But if the air supply is poor during the combustion process, it can create more harmful by-products, including carbon monoxide and carbon particles.

Other sources of PM10 include dust from construction sites, industrial and agricultural combustion, and landfills. Natural sources of PM10 include pollen, bacteria fragments, and fumes from wildfires.

You can read a complete summary of the causes and relative concentrations of PM10 in this government report.

What Are The Risks of PM10 Air Pollution?

The risks of exposure to PM10 can be divided into the short-term exposure effects and long-term exposure effects.

Effects of Short-Term Exposure to PM10

Short-term exposure to PM10 air pollution can aggravate existing conditions, including asthma, allergies, and other respiratory conditions. So PM10 air pollution can pose a particular risk to hospitals.

Not only can it have a negative impact on existing staff and patient health, it can also lead to additional hospitalisations. At a time when the NHS is struggling to manage a huge backlog, anything that could potentially add to the backlog must be treated as a significant threat.

Effects of Long-Term Exposure to PM10

Long-term exposure to PM10 air pollution can lead to serious – even terminal – lung diseases, including lung cancer. Also, PM10 air pollution can include bacteria fragments, and even some viruses. So PM10 air pollution can also carry an infection risk.

Managing the Risks of PM10 Air Pollution at Your Hospital

The Air Quality Standards Regulations 2010 require that concentrations of PM10 in the UK must not exceed an annual average of 40µg/m³. The latest government report indicates that PM10 emissions have fallen significantly in the past 30 years.

Nonetheless, any concentrations of PM10 and other forms of air pollution can pose a considerable risk to vulnerable people. So if your hospital’s located near a main road, a construction site, or any commercial, industrial or agricultural processing location, then you should take steps to manage your onsite air pollution levels:

Fast and Effective Air Filtration Solutions for Hospitals

The BlueAir HealthProtect™ air purifiers are fitted with advanced HEPASilent filters. This means they’re capable of catching and destroying 99.97% of particles down to 0.1 microns in size. So they can filter the harmful PM10 particles from the atmosphere, as well as PM2.5 particles, VOCs, dust, mould, and up to 99% of viruses and bacteria.

Browse our complete range of specialist air purifiers for healthcare settings.

Flu Strains in 2022 – How Many and Which Are Most Common?

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Global influenza levels have been low since 2020, but the UK government is predicting to see a resurgence in winter 2022 to 2023. Indeed, the UK could be facing its worse flu season in years. Southern hemisphere nations such as Australia have experienced rampant flu seasons, and experts warn the same may be in store for the UK.

In this post we’ll discuss the flu strains that may circulate in the UK in 2022 and explore ways you can help prevent and control infection.

Common Winter 2022 UK Flu Strains

The major flu strain making the rounds this year is H3N2. Other flu strains that may circulate in the UK this year include H1N1, B(Victoria) and B(Yamagata).

H3N2 Flu Strain

This is the same strain that was responsible for the bad 2017-2018 flu season in the UK, when 22,000 excess deaths in England and Wales were linked to the flu.

Fortunately, reports from Australia indicate that the current flu vaccination is a good match for the H3N2 strain. So it’s vital that any individual who is susceptible to serious illness from viruses receives their annual flu jab.

Flu Variants and Vaccines

Each of the four variants falls into the Influenza A and B categories, which are invariably responsible for the annual flu seasons across the world. Each strain brings broadly similar symptoms, including high temperatures, exhaustion, sore throats, headaches, coughs, and sneezes. Where each strain differs is in its severity and transmissibility.

This year’s flu vaccines have been developed to fight these four major strains. However, flu viruses can mutate over the course of the season, so the vaccines may not be wholly effective in reducing the risk of flu illness.

On top of that, in 2022 the UK may have to contend with a “twindemic”. Covid still hasn’t gone away, after all, and some experts are concerned that “vaccine fatigue” may have set in among the most vulnerable groups.

So anyone eligible for a vaccine should get one. Yet health professionals can take additional action to help prevent and control flu infections this year.

How to Help Prevent the Spread of Flu in 2022

If you work in a GP’s office or a similar healthcare setting, you’re likely to encounter many people with flu-like symptoms this year. You’re also likely to spend time among individuals who are especially vulnerable to viruses, including elderly people, children, and those with serious long-term health conditions.

There are a few things you can do to help prevent and control the spread of flu among your co-workers and your most vulnerable patients:

  • Risk Assessment and Patient Placement – You should assess each patient’s infection risk as soon as they arrive. If possible, you should isolate any patients who demonstrate a high risk of cross-infection.
  • Hand Hygiene – You should wash your hands before and after interacting with every patient. This should take you at least 20 seconds, and you should follow the advised procedure to ensure thorough hand hygiene.
  • Respiratory and Cough Etiquette – Encourage all staff to catch their coughs and sneezes in tissues, and to dispose of these tissues immediately afterwards, before washing their hands. To make this easier, provide ample tissues and hand-washing facilities throughout your care setting.
  • Personal Protective Equipment – Staff should wear the adequate PPE depending on the task at hand. Ideally, all PPE should be disposable, and located close to the point of use.

These are all examples of standard infection control precautions (SICPs). Read our full guide to infection prevention and control.

Air Purification for Effective Infection Control

Good air filtration can make a huge difference in preventing and controlling infection in healthcare settings. A recent University of Cambridge study found that an air filtration system in a Covid-19 ward successfully removed almost all traces of the airborne virus.

The BlueAir HealthProtect 7740i Air Purifier can deliver complete filtration every 12.5 minutes in rooms as large as 62m². Its filters can trap up to 99.97% of particles down to 0.1 microns, and up to 99% of viruses and bacteria – including all of the most common flu strains, and Covid.

Learn more about how we can help prevent infections and improve the air quality in your healthcare setting. Get in touch to talk to one of our air purification experts today.

 

Common Infections in Care Homes & Effects on Bed Shortage

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Many types of viral and bacterial infection are common in care homes and residential care settings.

3 Factors That Make Infections a Major Concern in Care Homes

In this post we’ll discuss some of the common infections in care homes. We’ll also explore some ways to improve infection prevention and control in care homes and other healthcare settings.

Most Common Infections in Care Homes

One study of infection outbreaks in care homes found that more than 50% of all infection agents came from just four organisms:

  • The influenza virus
  • Norovirus
  • Salmonella
  • Streptococcus Pyogenes

Furthermore, this study found that the respiratory tract was affected in 45% of outbreaks in care homes. Meanwhile, the gastrointestinal tracts was involved in 26% of outbreaks, the skin in 7% and the eyes in 2%.

Other common infections in care homes include Clostridium difficile and Bacillary Dysentery. These are each bacterial infections that can lead to vomiting, fever, and diarrhoea.

This study was conducted in 2012. Since then, of course, the world’s faced numerous outbreaks of Covid-19. Many of these outbreaks hit care homes particularly hard, particularly in the early days of the pandemic.

The latest Omicron variants may not be as deadly as the earlier variants, but they may still pose a risk to certain at-risk groups. Care home managers may have to account for the risks of further Omicron outbreaks for years to come.

How To Prevent and Control Common Infections in Care Homes

The key to infection prevention and control in care settings is to understand how these infections spread. Also, some care home residents may be unable to effectively communicate that they’re feeling bad. So learning the common symptoms of these infections is vital. The earlier you can spot the symptoms, the earlier you can act to protect both staff and patients from further infection.

Here are some general strategies care home managers can adopt to prevent and control infection:

  • Staff Training – Make sure all members of staff understand the common infections they might have to deal with, including the symptoms and how they might spread.
  • Policies and Procedures – You should have specific policies and procedures in place for managing infections, and all members of staff should be able to access these documents at all times.
  • Zoning – If a member of staff catches an infection, they should not come to work. If a resident catches an infection, you should shield them from the rest of the residents for as long as they carry an infection risk. You should also have a policy for informing the resident’s friends and relatives should they catch an infection, as you may have to delay visits for a while.
  • PPE & Hand Hygiene – Staff should wear appropriate personal protection equipment (PPE) when interacting with residents who may have infections. They should also practice good hand hygiene, thoroughly washing their hands both before and after interactions.
  • Cough and Sneeze Etiquette – As many common care home infections are spread via coughs and sneezes, staff should encourage residents to cover their noses and mouths whenever they need to sneeze or cough. They could also provide ample tissues (and instruct residents to “catch it, bin it, kill it”), and adequate hand washing facilities.
  • Cleaning Procedures – Bacteria and viruses can linger on surfaces for hours. It’s likely that most if not all care homes already have stringent cleaning procedures in place. But these procedures should also account for how viruses and bacteria can linger on soft furnishings, including carpets, curtains, and upholstery.

You can read official UK government guidance on infection prevention and control in care homes.

How Air Purification Can Form a Critical Part of Infection Prevention and Control in Care Homes

Though there are many ways for infections to spread in care homes, many of the viruses and bacteria that are responsible for these infections are airborne.

Good air filtration can therefore make a huge difference in preventing and controlling infection in care homes. For example, a recent University of Cambridge study found that an air filtration system in a Covid-19 ward successfully removed almost all traces of the airborne virus.

Our range of HealthProtect air purifiers are specifically designed for hospitals and other healthcare facilities – including care homes and other residential care settings.

The BlueAir HealthProtect 7740i Air Purifier can deliver complete filtration every 12.5 minutes in rooms as large as 62m². Its filters can trap up to 99.97% of particles down to 0.1 microns, and up to 99% of viruses and bacteria – including those responsible for all of the most common outbreaks in care homes.

Want to talk about how we can help prevent infections and improve the air quality in your care home? Get in touch to talk to one of our air purification experts today.