The first impression people have when they enter a hospital is important, but it also has a positive impact on the daily lives of the staff if they can work in a clean, tidy environment. For B+N Referencia Zrt., it is an important mission to improve hospital hygiene standards and appreciates those health care workers who are responsible for or have a heartfelt concern for this. We asked Prof. Dr. Csaba Polgár, Director General of the National Institute of Oncology and Dr. Ilona Tasáry, Chief Hygienist of the National Institute of Oncology on the topic.
What role does a clean, tidy environment play in the perception of the hospital, and how can this be practically maintained?
Prof. Dr. Csaba Polgár: Thanks to the hospital renovation programme in Budapest in recent years, our institution has also been renewed, which has been a great help in realising improvements that were not possible in previous years, as the funds available at that time were spent on medical equipment directly necessary for treatment. In the last year, however, it has been possible to renew and extend the patient areas, and feedback has shown that this has also improved the comfort of patients. This is very important for us as it is in all our interests to maintain this level of cleanliness and tidiness on a day-to-day basis, both by our own staff and by the service provider we have contracted. In the outsourcing of activities such as certain tasks related to hospital hygiene, it is an advantage that the organisation of human resources and logistics are not challenges we need to face. What is important from the point of view of the institution is that the hospital be both subjectively and objectively clean and tidy, and that the standard of hygiene be fully compliant. If this is ensured in a way that ultimately takes the burden off the doctors and nurses who want to deal with patients, and the provider can be held accountable and fully responsible then it is a workable partnership. Our institution measures the extent of patient satisfaction in several ways. Our latest questionnaire survey resulted in a 95.2 percent result, which we are proud of. Obviously, there are many aspects to such a study, but one of them is the comfort level of the patients. I find it important to mention that we have received a lot of feedback that our patients would like to see such a clean hospital and renovated infrastructure everywhere. It is a pleasure for me and my colleagues to read such favourable opinions.
What are the expectations of the staff responsible for the cleanliness of the hospital and to what extent can technology be involved in this area?
Dr. Ilona Tasáry: It is essential to see that the continuous disinfectant cleaning of a hospital requires serious preparation and even training of the staff. The equipment needed for cleaning and disinfection in healthcare institutions must also be of a high standard and modern technology, an important expectation from institutions towards service providers. And when we talk about the need to involve technology as much as possible in hospital hygiene, we have to mention robotics, the precursors of which are already present in our institution, whether in the form of a cleaning robot or a disinfection robot using UV light. Overall, a clean environment encourages patients and staff to take better care of the facility.
(Forbes)