Securing A Patient’s Environment at Home

References:  

Taking care of patients at home is a common practice that we have followed for years, but infectious diseases such as COVID-19 forced us to dig deeper into the subject. 

Cleaning and disinfecting the patient’s environment, as well as assisting with medication, diet, and hygiene, are all part of the process. 

Let’s figure out how to improve and maintain the patient’s health and the safety of the person who assists them by taking care of their environment. 

Two Sides of the Story

There are always two sides to any story, and the same is true in case of the patient’s environment. The first thing is to keep the patient’s betterment in mind, and the second is to ensure the safety of the person assisting the patient. The following are some of the precautions we must take. 

Patient’s Betterment  

When a patient is at home, we require assistance from a family member. No matter if the patient needs post-operative care at home or any other kind of patient care. Some professional companies offer patient care services in the comfort of their own homes. 

Germ-free Environment  

Environmental cleaning and disinfection are essential, but there are many aspects that you need to take care of other than these. The following are some steps you should take to ensure that the patient is in a germ-free environment. 

➤Cleaning  

Cleaning is not a simple procedure; if we look at hospital cleaning guidelines, we can see how advanced the hospital cleaning protocol is. For example, you don’t have to follow any ICU cleaning protocol, but you must go through the hospital patient room cleaning checklist, which tells you what areas to be cleaned and how.

➤Ventilation  

Ventilation can help you automatically kill germs from various parts of the patient’s room. However, due to lack of ventilation and natural light, there can be dead zones in the room.   

➤Disinfecting  

Talking about the dead zones, you need to disinfect the areas with no ventilation and natural light. Other than this, toilet disinfection, bed items like pillows, bedsheets, etc., must be disinfected.   

➤Easy Access  

Making a patient’s environment safe is essential, and convenience is vital too. Necessities like water, medicines, food must be placed close enough to the patient for easy access.   

➤Positiveness  

Some items bring positiveness to our life; they can be anything from plants, posters, photos, or anything that excites us. Making a patient’s environment positive is essential.   

Safety Of the Assisting Person  

A person assisting the patient during treatment at home must ensure their safety. Following are some aspects to work upon.  

➜Training  

A person must be trained to ensure that he helps the patient effectively and protect themselves simultaneously.  

➜Equipment  

By equipment, we mean everything from safety to health diagnosis. Must equip yourself with all the required equipment.   

➜Emergency Situation  

An emergency can arrive at any time when you are assisting a patient at home. Be prepared for such situations.   

➜Different Moments  

There are different moments when you need to take serious precautions. Moments like serving food, washing or disinfecting clothes, bedsheets, pillows, etc.   

➜Stay Distant  

Infectious diseases can spread from direct contact; a person needs to keep their distance from the patient in such cases as much as possible. While we understand that this may not always be possible; so, bring gloves, masks, and other protective equipment with you when visiting the patient’s room. 

General Tips for Both

Most of the safety measures on both sides are different, but there are some general tips for both (patient and the assistant). Following are these general but significant safety tips.   

⇥Natural Product  

People search for advanced products but must keep in mind their ingredients. Try using natural sanitizer and disinfectant that doesn’t harm anyone.   

⇥Using Safety Equipment  

Safety equipment like a mask, gloves, sanitizers must be used.   

⇥Hygiene Practices  

Frequently cleaning your surroundings and following personal hygiene measures is essential.   

⇥Health Diagnose  

The patient is being diagnosed, but the assistant also needs to be diagnosed.  

⇥High Touch Points  

Tell both of them about high touchpoints like doorknobs, taps, etc., so, that they can sanitize these points while touching them.   

After Treatment Measures

Some post-treatment measures to be taken care of, such as complete home sanitization. Some professional home cleaning services are available there, but you can clean your home yourself too.   

Taking care of patients’ environment is essential because we’ll hit two targets with one arrow. A safe, clean, and germ-free environment can benefit the patients’ health while also ensuring the safety of the assisting person; I hope this comprehensive guide will assist you in accomplishing both of these objectives. 

Pankaj Rai 

1. CDC, Caring For Someone Sick At Home – https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/if-you-are-sick/care-for-someone.html  

2. WHO’s guidelines on cleaning and disinfection of environmental surfaces – https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/cleaning-and-disinfection-of-environmental-surfaces-inthe-context-of-covid-19  

3. NCBI, Patient Safety and Quality in Home Health Care – https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK2631/