COVER STORY: 360° UV-C decontamination: Helping to maintain healthy spaces

Earlier this year it was reported that an increasing rate of healthcare-associated infections (HCAIs) had been found in NHS Trusts and independent sector organisations.¹ While work is being done to understand the various factors behind this increase, the data highlights again the importance of blending prevention and control measures to protect both patients and staff from infection. 

Good environmental hygiene is one of the key strategies to preventing the transmission of infections. It is, however, no mean feat for the NHS who clean an area the size of Gibraltar every single day. As described by NHS England in their National standards of healthcare cleanliness “Delivering a high-quality healthcare cleaning service is complex, demanding and not to be underestimated”. The emergence of new technologies that can enhance cleaning and disinfection measures is an important step to achieving comprehensive decontamination within healthcare settings. One of these technologies is UV-C light. 

Throughout the 20th century, scientists began to further develop their understanding of UV radiation and in particular its impact on microorganisms. UV-C light was found to have the greatest germicidal effectiveness and has since been demonstrated to significantly reduce the risk of HCAIs when used in addition to terminal cleaning.^2-6 UV-C works to effectively inactivate pathogens that may be missed during manual cleaning by targeting residual contamination on high-touch surfaces such as bed rails. It’s a growing technology that can help infection prevention teams to maintain healthy spaces.