Infection prevention and control: Guideline for speech pathologists, Version 1,2020.

7.0

Sanitizers •

Reduce bacteria on surfaces by at least 99.9% • Unable to remove dirt or grease • Use after cleaning with a detergent (if required) • Leave on a surface for the required length of time (i.e. ‘contact’ or ‘dwell’ time) as per manufacturer’s instructions • An example of a sanitizer is sodium hypochlorite (household bleach). 67,75 Sodium hypochlorite (Bleach) • Active against most infectious agents • Use as a disinfectant or sanitizer depending on its concentration • Leave on a surface for at least 2 minutes before wiping off or allow to dry naturally • Household bleach (a solution of 5.25%) can be used to sanitize dishes and eating utensils • Bleach solutions lose strength over time - prepare fresh solutions before use (e.g., daily) or replace stock solutions every few months. 76 Cleaning Considerations • All surfaces require regular cleaning • Physical (mechanical or manual) cleaning with a detergent solution is the most important step in cleaning • Use disinfectant to decontaminate a room or clinical/practice space after suspected or confirmed infectious clients 73 • Use surface barriers (e.g., plastic wrap, sheets, tubing or other moisture impervious materials), to prevent contamination for: o Frequently touched clinical or practice surfaces (e.g., tables and computer keyboards) o Surfaces at higher risk of contamination (e.g., regularly touched when gloved) o Surfaces which are difficult to clean o For collection and handling of used personal assistive technology (e.g., single- use bags when item provided for adjustment) o When visiting shared clinical or practice locations and client’s homes • Clean environmental surfaces, items/fittings and shared client care equipment (i.e. equipment that comes into contact only with intact skin, such as blood pressure monitors, wheelchairs, torches, walking frames, loaner or test assistive technology) 77 • Clean client’s assistive technology (e.g., communication aid, hearing aids, computers, phones, glasses, mobility and other functional aids) as required • Regularly clean, maintain and service commercial or domestic dishwashers according to the manufacturer’s specifications 78 • Regularly clean the vehicle used to travel for work, particularly if travelling between clients and facilities. Consider items and areas in the vehicle such as car seats, the steering wheel, gears, handles, electronic/air-conditioning/sound controls, floor mats, dedicated storage boxes used to transport work materials. Refer to Table 11 for examples of common speech pathology tasks and cleaning recommendations as per the precaution type (for transmission-based route definitions see Section 6.0). Note: Always clean all items visibly soiled. Before cleaning, review manufacturer’s instructions and adhere to workplace policies and procedures, government guidelines, legislation and infection control services for standard and transmission-based and infectious agent cleaning methods.

57

Infection Prevention and Control - Guideline for Speech Pathologists | Version 1, 2020