How hand-washing station design reduces outbreaks
It might sounds like the name of amusement park ride, but the splash zone is a serious concern for Canadian healthcare facilities. It the area around hand hygiene sinks where water droplets land. A study conducted by CSA Group reports this zone has been linked to outbreaks of antimicrobial-resistant bacteria in healthcare environments.
According to the Public Health Agency of Canada, approximately 220,000 Canadians get a hospital-acquired infection (HAI) each year leading to 8,000 deaths from those infections.
Unfortunately, many of these cases can be traced back to healthcare units themselves. These statistics are a sobering reminder of the dangers present in healthcare facilities and your team’s role in preventing the spread of dangerous bacteria through cleaning processes and hand hygiene station design.
While managing the splash zone is especially critical in healthcare environments where outbreaks pose the greatest threat, the same design controls can be implemented across all industries including long-term care, educational institutions, and public facilities.
Why is the Splash Zone dangerous?
No matter how carefully you wash your hands, you can’t control the water droplets that splash from the sink basin, drain, or off your hands. In CSA’s controlled study, fluorescent markers were used to track where droplets landed during handwashing. They found that 95% of droplets land within 1 to 1.2 meters of the faucet, which means they’re likely to land on faucet handles, countertops, clothes, or nearby soap and paper towel dispensers, potentially leading to recontamination of freshly washed hands.
Improperly maintained drains are a key culprit of contaminated water droplets. Antibiotic resistant bacteria such as Carbapenemase‑Producing Enterobacterales (CPE) can live for extended periods of time on the biofilm that forms in drains. While it’s not an airborne disease, washing hands over a contaminated drain can aerosolize bacteria into droplets which contaminate surrounding areas and hands.
So What Should You Do?
The study found that there is no single sink, faucet, or combination of the two that reduces how far droplets splash, meaning cleaning teams need processes in place to clean it and design around it.
Increase Touchless Dispensers
Touchless faucets and hand towel dispensers reduce the number of high-touch surfaces a person comes in contact with during hand washing, therefore reducing the number of instances harmful bacteria can be transferred. CSA’s usability analysis found automatic faucets with trough sinks were the most user-friendly design – and the easier something is to use, the more likely people are to use it correctly.
Proper Drain Maintenance
Biofilms build up over time and resist routine cleaning. Specific processes are required to remove them and the harmful bacteria they harbour. Take a look at our CPE Prevention article to learn the different methods you can use to maintain drains.
A key design control is the installation of offset drains – drains in which water doesn’t fall directly into the opening. They’re a highly effective way to prevent drain splash and are recommended over traditional sink and faucet design.
Keep the Zone Clear
The most affordable design control is to maintain a clear space of over 1.2 meters around sinks to reduce splash-related contamination. This means adjusting the placement of what might be inside of the splash zone such as:
- Clean linens, gloves, and PPE stock
- Medication prep areas and supply carts
- Patient care equipment and personal items
If items cannot be moved, suggested guidance is to install a vertical splash guard to break the droplet path.
A Helping Hand
Hand hygiene is the single most effective defence against healthcare-related infections. However, proper hand washing alone is no longer enough. Cleaning teams have to develop processes to manage the risk posed by splashes that could contain contaminated droplets.
