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Blood, Urine & Vomit

When your staff and pupils are exposed to potentially harmful fluids like Blood, Urine and Vomit, measures should be in place to protect them from infectious diseases.

Infectious diseases are spread in a variety of ways including through the air, through direct contact via soiled objects, from the skin and mucous membrane and in VOMIT and saliva, URINE & BLOOD.

Diseases Spread In Blood
Hepatitis B
Hepatitis C
Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV)
Cytomegalovirus

Diseases Spread in Urine
Cytomegalovirus
Leptospirosis is spread in rats urine which can be a fatal disease in humans. Your site manager could potentially come into contact with vermin.

Diseases Spread in Vomit & Saliva
Noroviruses
Norwalk-like-viruses
Cytomegalovirus
Glandular Fever
Hepatitis B
Winter Vomiting Disease SRSV

It is important to handle bodily fluids in a way which prevents the spread of illness.
Steps should be followed to prevent contact with and the spread of disease causing organisms when cleaning up Blood, Urine & Vomit.

To reduce the possibility of further contamination follow these simple steps:

Wear Personal Protection Equipment - P.P.E
Remove sharp objects from the area
Clean up the spillage immediately, if this cannot be done straight away cordon off the area until it can be cleaned.
Sanitise and clean area as normal
Sanitise any items used in the process such as dustpans / brushes / vacuum nozzles.
Carefully dispose of waste and any P.P.E used.

PERSONAL PROTECTION EQUIPMENT

GLOVES : Should be mandatory for any clean up operation. Gloves come in a variety of sizes and materials. For this procedure we recommend a good quality latex glove. The quality of latex is measured in AQL levels. The lower the AQL the smaller the failure rate ( in otherwords the lower the AQL the stronger the latex and the less risk of the glove tearing!) Obviously you want a glove that is not going to ‘rip’ when you put it on.

FACE MASK : Should be used if the fluid is above chest level or when splashing may occur

DISPOSABLE COVERALLS : Should be used when splashing may occur

OVERSLEEVES : Should be worn when splashing may occur but when a complete coverall is not necessary.

BOOTIES : Should be worn when walking on the contaminated area is unavoidable.

SANITISER : For sanitising hands after clearing up the spillage, particularly where water may not be readily available.

MORE INFORMATION

REMEMBER!
Always check PPE for tears and damage

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SHARP OBJECTS
If any sharp objects or broken glass is contaminated with the fluid remove the object with tongs or dust pan and place in a sealable Sharps container, this should be stored in a restricted access area and removed by your registered hygiene service provider or Local Council.

HAZARD SIGNS
Sometimes it might not be possible to clean up the hazard immediately therefore you need to restrict access so that no one else treads or touches the spillage. You should have available a means to cordon off the area by signs or tape. Firstly station some one at the site to tell any one passing about the hazard and then as quickly as possible put down a wet floor sign or hazard sign and tape off the area if required.

CLEANING UP THE BLOOD, URINE OR VOMIT

Spillages of these fluids can be:

Blotted up – using paper, tissue or rags
Mopped up
ABSORBED UP

Blotting and mopping can cause splashing therefore it is our recommendation that an absorbent powder is used.

ABSORB THE FLUID:
1. Ensure all fluid is absorbed by liberally sprinkling an absorbent powder over the spillage and leave for approximately 90 seconds.

2. Once all the fluid has been absorbed remove the powder with a stiff brush & dustpan and then vacuum.

3. Empty the contents of the vacuum bag straight away so that it is not forgotten, empty all waste into a waste bag or other suitable receptacle.
When using a bag it is our advice to double bag for further protection.

We recommend using an absorbent powder such as SANITAIRE which is ‘Bacteriostatic’ and is effective against gram positive and gram negative bacteria – this means that the bacteria within the absorbed fluid are contained.

SANITAIRE absorbs up to 400 times its own volume and is probably the safest solution to one of the most unpleasant of jobs. SANITAIRE is not like other absorbent powders as it will not bleach carpet, it also contains a subtle floral fragrance and helps to deodorise the area immediately.

SANITAIRE Try-It-And-See

SANITAIRE Information Sheet

4. Once the waste has been removed sanitise the area using a bactericide that has been proven to kill bacteria. Our recommendation is STA-KILL as this can be used safely on all surfaces including fabrics & carpets. STA-KILL also contains a deodoriser to help reduce bad odours in vomit & urine situations and also contains a urine stain neutralising agents.

5. Any reusable equipment used such as dustpans, brushes, vacuum nozzles etc should be decontaminated straight away. Place equipment into a bucket of disinfecting solution such as STA-KILL and allow to soak following the instruction on the product.

DISPOSAL

All disposable items should be removed and placed into a waste bag, remove gloves last. We recommend that you double bag the waste. Vomit & Urine waste can be disposed of in your general bin, however you should check your schools policy for disposing of waste contaminated with blood. Also any sharps waste should be removed by a designated contractor and taken for incineration. This can usually be done by your Hygiene Service Provider.

FINALLY … WASH & SANITISE YOUR HANDS

For further details on how to reduce cross contamination of bacteria from hands please see the Clean Hands in Schools Campaign CHSC

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