Gel Has Had its Day
No were are not talking hair gel, this is all about anti-bacterial hand gels that are often used to replace hand washing where a wash hand basin is not available – No more says the FSA in their e-coli guidance documents that have now been issued to all environmental health departments throughout the UK, and have also become part of the re write of the Event Safety [purple] Guide which is the bible for all event organisers
How do they work?
Alcohol gels work by stripping away the outer layer of oil on the skin, thereby destroying any “transient” microorganisms present on the surface of the hands. After use, re-growth of bacteria on the skin tends to occur slowly, thereby effectively keeping “residual” micro-flora that reside in deeper layers of skin from coming to the surface.
The problem is that like disinfectants used to clean surfaces, their effectiveness is vastly reduced when dirt, food or anything else is on hands as it will make the alcohol less effective.
The situation for caterers if you still want to use anti-bacterial gel it is necessary to first wash your hands with soap and water which defeats the whole reason for using them in the first place, which is why all the new guidelines state, ‘Anti-bacterial hand gels should not be used instead of thorough hand washing’.
The problem is that like disinfectants used to clean surfaces, their effectiveness is vastly reduced when dirt, food or anything else is on hands as it will make the alcohol less effective.
The situation for caterers if you still want to use anti-bacterial gel it is necessary to first wash your hands with soap and water which defeats the whole reason for using them in the first place, which is why all the new guidelines state, ‘Anti-bacterial hand gels should not be used instead of thorough hand washing’.
Hospitals - Why do they still use them?
If you’re wondering why they are still used in hospitals as a suitable alternative to hand washing for health-care personnel in health-care settings, it is because many healthcare workers routinely must clean their hands multiple times per hour, the use of alcohol gels while moving between patients has been shown to favourably impact hand-cleansing adherence by staff due to time saved over traditional hand washing methods.
So what do you do if you haven't got hand wash facilities as part of your kit?
If you haven’t, you need to get thinking before next season
NCASS have come up with a workable and more importantly an affordable solution
NCASS have come up with a workable and more importantly an affordable solution
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