Hospital Bed Maintenance Practices

Keeping hospital beds clean and hygienic is paramount to stemming the rise in infection transmission. The Covid-19 pandemic saw a meteoric rise in the number of hospital beds being added across hospital wards with a huge burden on the maintenance staff. Clean India Journal interacts with Mohammad Masum Billah, Housekeeping-Assistant General Manager of United Hospital Ltd to understand the intricacies of hospital bed hygiene practices.

Two of the most common pieces of patient care found in any hospital include beds and mattresses. Mattresses are in contact with the patient’s skin, which houses a host of bacteria (harmless and otherwise). The risk of mattresses getting exposed to bodily fluids due to open wounds or incontinence is high which makes mattress cleaning difficult but necessary at the same time. Multiple staff handle the bed each day: from the nurses adjusting the positioning to porters transporting patients throughout the hospital, each person using a bed increases the risk of cross-contamination. Therefore, thorough cleaning of mattresses should supplement strict hand washing procedures.

The increasing number of nosocomial or Hospital Acquired Infection (HAI) cases across hospitals have put a spotlight on prioritizing patient wellbeing. “Prior to the arrival of a patient, all parts including the bed railing, headboard and bed base, remote and wires must be disinfected with appropriate reagents. A portable electrostatic fogger machine is useful to disinfect the bed after or prior occupancy by a patient. During the patient stay, the bed must be disinfected once a day completely and after every human touch. The training of staff should be done incorporating practical and fun activities (not in a training room). It should be included in the monthly training plan. A bed hygiene champion can be identified with the help of ICD (Infection Control Department) along with some rewards to motivate the staff. Additionally, the supervisors and managers should be vigilant to ensure the practices are followed,” shares Masum Billah.

Counseling of the patient attendant and the cooperation of the nursing department in cases where a patient suffering from a contagious disease, occupies a bed and is not allowed to be disturbed, is a classic example of a challenge faced in maintaining high standards of bed hygiene in a healthcare facility.

Foreign shores employ automated bed washing systems to secure bed hygiene. India would benefit with new and innovative technologies at cost-effective rates being deployed across hospitals to counter the menace of HAIs and afford good patient-centric care.