Due to the pressures of the pandemic, it is clear that Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) training has been put on hold in the healthcare setting. However, this does not mean that training and education is not still vital in the fight against COVID-19. Hand hygiene is an integral part of infection prevention and control and should not be abandoned at this critical time. Staff need quality training, education, and feedback to build the skill of hand hygiene. Infection control personnel also need to be able to evaluate and monitor this training to help ensure positive results.
“70% say training needs have increased due to the pandemic”
Despite many workplaces not being able to offer training to staff, 72.2% of respondents in a survey conducted by Skills for Health state that training needs have increased due to the pandemic (1). SureWash offers a solution for delivering seamless hand hygiene training and education to facilitate these needs. Validated in numerous studies, the SureWash technology can help your facility reduce the spread of infection, promote hand hygiene competency, and improve patient outcomes.
Infection control training and retraining for all healthcare staff
SureWash brings training and retraining into the hospital environment. This enables heath workers to train during their work shift at times suitable to them. We focus on meeting the needs of medical professionals by making training and education as convenient and interesting as possible. Each session delivers short bursts of learning to encourage repeated training and for optimum convenience. Research has also shown that this is the most effective approach to building a habit in hand hygiene.
Remote training and education
Accessibility to IPC training remotely is becoming increasingly more important due to the impact of the pandemic. As highlighted by Michael Bell from the CDC, portable training on a mobile device must be accommodated. This opens up the possibility for people to receive training while they’re commuting or at home (2). The SureWash Hand Hygiene APP empowers remote hand hygiene training and education. It can be downloaded onto personal devices from both the Android and Apple stores. Although this training is being conducted outside of the typical work environment, all training data and progress is uploaded to the reporting suite on SureWash.Net for administrators to evaluate and monitor. We help ensure that no training goes unnoticed whether it takes place in the healthcare environment or outside of it.
Training for students/unskilled new employees in infection prevention
Healthcare settings are now insisting on verification that students have been trained and assessed in hand hygiene before they are allowed onsite. However, it is a challenge for medical colleges to test the practical skill of hand hygiene through remote learning. Healthcare facilities have also had to employ new, unskilled heath workers resulting in training needs also increasing. SureWash’s integration with Learning Management Systems (LMS) to deliver an online hand hygiene course helps ensure that students and employees are prepared and trained before entering the healthcare setting. Remote practical assessments and theoretical learning can be delivered through an organisation’s existing LMS.
Although there are pressures from the pandemic, infection prevention and control training should not be put on hold. Rather it should be a priority as there is a pressing need to refresh skills and knowledge. SureWash offers a complete solution for all your hand hygiene training needs.
Get in contact to learn more about how we can help your facility: https://surewash.com/contact-us/
- Skills for Health (2020), ‘ COVID-19 Insights: Impact on workforce.’ Available at: skillshttps://www.skillsforhealth.org.uk/images/landing/Covid-19%20Workforce%20Survey%20Key%20Insights.pdf
- Infection Control Today (2020), ‘Q&A: CDC Wants to Help Infection Preventionists.’ Available at:
https://www.infectioncontroltoday.com/view/q-a-cdc-official-explains-180m-push-to-help-infection-preventionists