Policy statement:
10.1 Whilst blood poses the greatest risk, all body products i.e. blood, vomit, urine, faeces, sputum and saliva, carry some risk of infection.
10.2 Staff must follow universal precautions i.e. they must treat any body product from any person or colleague as if it were infected and deal with it accordingly.
Mandatory Procedures
10.3 When undertaking personal care tasks or handling soiled material where hands or clothing could be contaminated by a body product, staff must wear a disposable plastic apron and appropriate gloves.
10.4 Individuals who are soiled with a body product must wash themselves or be washed with plenty of warm soapy water, with disposable cloths. Baths, basins and bowls must be thoroughly cleaned with any mild detergent. Use a hypochlorite product e.g. Milton if the individual has contracted Clostridium difficile.
10.5 In domestic settings, soiled bed linen and clothing must be contained separately in a plastic bag, before being separately machine washed using a hot wash cycle (minimum 40 degrees) if this is part of the care plan or if other laundry procedures are in place, staff should bag it separately if other arrangements have been made. Ensure that the bagged washing is collected promptly.
10.6 In establishments, soiled bed linen and clothing must be placed into bags and tied straight away and these must go into a hospital wash i.e. sluice and pre-wash.
10.7 Any spillage must be covered with sufficient disposable paper towels or cloths to absorb it. Disposable gloves and aprons (personal protective clothing) must be worn. When absorption is complete, the paper towels or cloths should be disposed of safely (see section 11). The area should then be thoroughly cleaned with a suitable cleaning product. Where the use of the cleaning product is inappropriate e.g. on carpet or fabric, plenty of warm, soapy water should be used instead. Use disposable wipes, which should be wrung out before use and then discarded in accordance with the procedures in section 11. Do not return them to the bowl and continue until the cleaning is complete.
10.8 Managers and care workers must ensure that the necessary equipment is available to deal with spillages in offices or establishments.
Practice Guidance:
10.9 Staff must remember that finger-nails and rings can tear latex gloves and should take care that such damage does not occur.
10.10 Offices serviced by Shire Hall custodians can have spillages dealt with by phoning ext. 5244
