The five healthcare cleaning experts you can’t afford to miss at Interclean Istanbul 2019

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), 7% of patients contract a healthcare-associated infection (HCAIs) during a stay in hospital – with that figure rising to one in every ten in developing nations. In the UK alone, this amounts to more than £1 billion spent on treating infections that further increase the pressure on healthcare resources and put patient safety at risk.

At a time when many healthcare institutions struggle to keep up with demand, cleaning can often be an area where corners are cut. However, this is a completely counter-intuitive approach when effective disinfection practices carried out through healthcare cleaning have the ability to save both lives and money.

Why healthcare cleaning can’t be ignored

It’s easy to say that disinfection can improve patient outcomes, but another thing entirely to deliver it effectively. For example, a study from Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology found that even minor equipment, such as stethoscopes, can carry significant amounts of bacteria – including Staphylococcus aureus, known to cause severe infections. These are the basic tools of the profession, yet they can still pose a risk to patients.

Despite the challenges and difficulties involved in delivering effective disinfection and cleaning procedures, there are positive signs that it can be achieved. An Australian healthcare cleaning trial attempted to find out if, with better hygiene practices in place, it could reduce the 165,000 cases of healthcare-associated infections that occur each year. And the results speak for themselves.

Hospitals involved in the study improved their cleaning practices from 55% to 76% in bathroom areas and from 64% to 86% in bedroom areas. This led to a 37% reduction in instances of the major HCAI vancomycin-resistance enterococci (VRE). It also delivered a 5.8% overall decrease in other types of infections.

Meet the infection prevention experts

As the studies show, healthcare cleaning is an effective way to prevent infections in hospital environments. The challenge then is making sure organisations understand the practices they should introduce and why. That’s why we’re delighted to be bringing the first ever Healthcare Cleaning Forum MENA Regional Conference to Interclean Istanbul.

Bringing together some of the greatest minds in the industry to share their thoughts on what organisations can do to improve cleaning practices in the healthcare sector. Over the course of three days, our experts will tackle the challenges and offer solutions.

Here are the five speakers you really need to see if you’re looking to understand how to provide effective disinfection through healthcare cleaning:

• Professor Doctor Emine Alp Mese
  The Deputy Health Minister of the Republic of Turkey, Professor Doctor Emine Alp Mese, is no stranger to the demands of the healthcare industry. A Professor of Medicine and the Minister for Health, her appearance at Interclean Istanbul 2019 is proof of how urgent healthcare cleaning is.


• Professor Didier Pittet
  Our partner in organising our Healthcare Cleaning Forum MENA Regional Conference, Professor Didier Pittett is an infectious diseases expert and the Director of the Infection Control Programme. Speaking on behalf of the World Health Organisation (WHO), his talk will focus on their challenge, Clean Care is Safer Care, which is targeted at reducing HCAIs around the world.


• Alexandra Peters
  One of the brightest emerging minds in the sector, Alexandra Peters is a Research Assistant on the Infection Control Programme with a passion for changing the way we look at healthcare cleaning. She’ll be sharing her findings on how best to facilitate collaboration and provide cost-efficient ways to make hospitals cleaner and safer.


• Doctor Jon Otter
  A vocal promotor of better hand hygiene practices, Doctor Jon Otter is an Epidemiologist in healthcare-associated infection and antimicrobial resistance at the Imperial College of London. His talk will focus on how cutting costs on hospital cleaning and disinfection can be counter-intuitive. His research suggests that, in fact, financial and non-financial investment in high-quality hospital cleaning and disinfection can pay dividends.


• Ermira Tartari
  One of the key issues in the debate about improving healthcare cleaning and disinfection procedures is the risk of pathogen cross-transmission – and no one knows more about this than Ermira Tartari. A PhD fellow in Global Health and Infection Prevention and Control, Ermira sees that basic hygiene practices are essential to avoid the spread of pathogens and prevent infection.

Discover the future of healthcare cleaning

Following on from the success of the first Healthcare Cleaning Forum in Amsterdam in 2018, the MENA Regional Conference will kick off on 10 April 2019 at Interclean Istanbul.

The first event of its kind in the region, the forum will offer organisations involved in healthcare cleaning a unique opportunity to gain greater insight and discover best practices. It’s certainly not to be missed. See the full programme and find out more about our expert speakers here.

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