12 November 2020
By Tom Collins
tom@TheCork.ie
Residential facilities in Macroom, Montenotte, Clonakilty and Ballynoe in Cork
A nursing home group with residential facilities in Cork, Dublin, Meath and Waterford has been awarded the ‘Hygiene Assured’ certification by the Food Safety Company. CareChoice Ireland is the first nursing home group to receive the certification, which provides a scientific verification of cleanliness and sanitation, and guarantees that residential facilities are hygienically clean, free from pathogens and viruses through robust cleaning protocols.
Microbiological swabbing will be conducted on surfaces to provide scientific evidence that sanitation processes are effective.
CareChoice nursing homes across Ireland have been awarded the ‘Hygiene Assured’ certification by the Food Safety Company. Pictured in CareChoice Montenotte is (left) Mairead McCarthy, General Manager, The Food Safety Company; (centre) Noelle Ahern, Group Catering Manager, Carechoice; and (right) Jacqueline McCarthy, Senior Safety Auditor, The Food Safety Company.
The Food Safety Company uses a state-of-the art microbiological testing system to validate the standard of hygiene within Carechoice nursing homes.
CareChoice operate eleven nursing homes across Ireland and the certification highlights the commitment by the management team to maintaining the highest standard of hygiene in order to protect over 1,100 residents and provide reassurance to their families and staff. Infection control and cleaning training was delivered to staff in a small group session onsite to allow for adequate social distancing. Others had an option to attend a virtual training course.
Mary Daly, Managing Director of the Food Safety Company said: “We are delighted to present the Hygiene Assured Certification to CareChoice, which represents the largest implementation of the certification standard across the care home sector to date. This sector has been under immense pressure in recent months and while there are clearly strict cleaning procedures already in place, the Hygiene Assured Certification verifies the cleaning standard and the drive for continuous improvement of site-specific health and hygiene practices. At this time, it is important to provide reassurance to staff, residents and their family members about the importance placed on maintaining exemplary cleaning standards.”
Mr. Gerry Moore, CEO, CareChoice stated: “We are delighted to be awarded the Hygiene Assured certification. This award reflects the enormous effort, commitment, and hard work by the CareChoice team in all our homes. I congratulate them on the achievement as it gives confidence to our residents and staff alike. I would also like to express my gratitude to the professional support received from The Food Safety Company.”
Hygiene Assured Certification process involves an initial hygiene review, site specific training, audit to ensure correct implementation of cleaning practices and micro-analysis testing provides scientific evidence that an area is infection free. Regular re-auditing together with micro-testing will be required to ensure that standards are being maintained on an ongoing basis. The training also includes guidance on the application of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) for staff and user-friendly documentation of the cleaning process.
