Conference Overview

Thursday, 29 July 2010 14:38  |  Web master

The AHCP’s 35th Annual Conference took place in Bristol on the 9th - 10th June 2010. A total of 21 speakers made presentations over the two day conference, designed to keep participants up to date on the key issues in healthcare cleaning and to make the most efficient use of delegates’ limited time.

Over the two days, sessions addressed the following topics:

Update on the Key Challenges

Across two presentations, senior representatives of the Care Quality Commission (Tracey Halladay) and the Patient’s Association (Vanessa Bourne) considered the progress that has been made and the challenges still remaining in healthcare cleaning and provided a valuable independent perspective on the work of association members. Among points made was the huge contribution a visibly clean environment makes in improving overall patient well-being. Discussion covered the need to engage everyone – cleaners, nurses, medical staff and patients in a partnership approach and the importance of taking responsibility and ownership of problems.

Hand in Hand, Caring for Our Patients

Vanessa Bourne, Patients Association

Cleaning and decontamination in the patient environment. Meeting the challenges through a focused approach

Tracey Halladay, HCAI Specialist Assessor Care Quality Commission.

Update on the Solutions

Following his presentation last year, Paul Cryer, former head of the Department of Health’s HCAI Technology Innovation programme provided an entertaining update of some impressive technology solutions for infection prevention. Old hands were less impressed when the question of how this might be paid for in the real world of NHS cut backs was ducked. Debate was sparked when the next presenter, Dr Stephanie Dancer, a consultant Microbiologist from Lanarkshire, contradicted the assertion that the performance of microfibre improves with use, a subject on which delegates hold strong views.

Measuring the effect of targeted cleaning

Dr Stephanie Dancer, Consultant Microbiologist, NHS Lanarkshire

HCAI Technology Innovation Programme

Paul Cryer, Consultant & former Head, Technology Innovation Programme, Department of Health.

Broadening the Challenge into new areas

As already mentioned, a series of breakout sessions encouraged delegates to look at healthcare cleaning challenges from different perspectives. The particular focus was on moving acute hospital practices into GP Surgeries, PCTs and mental health areas, something the AHCP is actively engaged in.

The NHS/Primary Care. A GP’s View of the Future

Dr Steve Mann GP

Hillingdon single room surgery

Anne Byrne, Hotel Services Contracts Manager, Sarah McDonagh, Research & Service Improvement Facilitator, & Ray Quinn, Redevelopment Programme Manager.

The relationship of Chief Nurse & Facilities Director: partnership or pain?

Andrew Jones, Director of Allied Clinical and Facilities Services and Alfonzo Tramontano, Chief Nurse, Chesterfield Royal Hospital NHS Foundation Trust.

Setting the Standards

The AHCP is working with the British Standards Institute (BSI) and the Department of Health (DoH) in formulating a new national standard for healthcare cleaning. DoH Head of Patient Environment and AHCP President Liz Jones provided members with an update on this core work, assisted by Chris Bell of the BSI.

Developing a British standard in hospital cleanliness

Dr. Liz Jones, Head of Patient Environment, Department of Health and President, AHCP and Chris Bell, BSI Professional Services.

Commissioning and Procurement

Day 2 aimed to address some of the practical issues facing delegates, starting with commissioning and procurement. Executives from NHS Supply Chain, the largest NHS procurement organisation in England and Wales, provided an update on current developments and some proposed changes. Dr Stephanie Cartwright from Dudley PCT was able to offer an insiders view to service commissioning.

NHS Supply Chain Facilities and Business Products

Nick Hutton, Senior Buyer, HCAI and Dental, NHS Supply Chain & Nigel Watson, Trading Manager, Facilities and Business Products, NHS Supply Chain

The New NHS

Stephanie Cartwright, Head of Market & Commissioning Development, NHS Dudley

Staff Engagement and Motivation

The subject of staff engagement and motivation is one which conference has not looked at for a number of years. It has been introduced in response to member suggestions and we were very fortunate to have expert advice on hand from Dr Len Almond on ways to promote workplace health and well being. This was followed by an excellent case study on the benefits of increasing staff engagement as experienced at the Royal Devon and Exeter Foundation Trust, presented by AHCP members Hazel Hedicker and Marie Taylor.

Signing up to Workplace Wellbeing

Dr Len Almond

Making Time to Talk

Hazel Hedicker, Facilities Service Manager & Marie Taylor, Organisational Development Manager, Royal Devon and Exeter Foundation Trust

Caring for Ourselves

In a further innovation, the final session of conference was devoted specifically to delegates and to the membership as a whole. Kicking off with an invigorating - some might say masochistic - work out designed to get those of us who spend far too much time sitting in front of computer screens out of our chairs, Dr Phil Hammond, famous from TV and Private Eye, delivered what can only be described as a tour-de-force stand up routine which had everyone present laughing for over an hour.

Suffice to say it was well worth waiting for and provided a rousing finale to proceedings. But with the humour came a very clear and vital message – that creating a happy and motivated work force is an essential element of success. A great note to end conference on and leave us looking forward to next time.

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