Techniques for reducing the risk of bacterial buildup

Care homes present their own unique challenges when it comes to safely and effectively managing water. Maintaining safety is of the utmost importance, especially in a hospital where patients may be battling serious health problems. While care home bathrooms present an entirely different challenge to their hospital equivalents, there is much that can be learnt from how a healthcare building is designed and used. 

Healthcare acquired infections (HAIs) affect 300,000 people per year and special products have been designed to help avoid the spread of the harmful bacterial that cause them. HAIs are often contracted by hospital patients because their weakened immune systems are more susceptible to acquiring an infection. The risk of these infections can be particularly prevalent in water as bacteria are able to thrive within liquids. This is truer still in areas where water can become stagnant or where it is able to pool. In such situations, the spread of Legionellaand Pseudomonas aeruginosa can be especially virulent. 

Within the care home environment, the risks are similar to those seen in hospitals. As in healthcare establishments, elderly care home residents who may have health issues also have weaker immune systems that may be prone to infection. Likewise, a group of residents living in close proximity increases these risks and places the need to reduce the possibility of infection spreading via bathrooms as a priority on a care home agenda.