Tips and advice on how we can stay safe as lockdown eases across the UK

What are some of the major steps being taken in local NHS facilities to reduce the spread of Coronavirus?

Cleaning has always been important throughout our facilities, however now more than ever. These deep cleans have been a part of our day to day routine, so we are fully trained on how to perform these to high standards.

However, because we are dealing with this virus each and every day, we are cleaning everything that you see within the hospital or clinic more frequently.

One thing that may not be as obvious is the incredible communication and support coming from within the organisation behind the scenes. Everything from checking in on the teams, to risk assessment checks and testing to keep us all safe.

The support from NHSPS has been great, which in turn helps to keep the staff motivated to do their part in fighting this virus. Even the senior management team have been keen to muck in, offering to help on the deep cleans and support in any way they can.

Now lockdown restrictions are being eased and single adults are merging into households, what are some of the steps people can take to ensure that they are being as careful as possible when merging into a new household?

First of all, it’s important to make sure that no one in your household or the one you are hoping to merge with has displayed any symptoms over the past couple of weeks. Secondly, no one that is shielding for health reasons should be visiting others at this time.

When having someone over to your house or garden, make yourself a ‘hostess with the most-est’ and provide them with antibacterial wipes or hand sanitizer before they enter. This will help to get rid of any outside germs that they may be bringing in.

Your guests won’t mean to spread germs, but they might do it without even thinking about it! Before your guests come over, take some time to think about places that people will likely touch without a second thought – such as door handles, railings or taps – and wipe these down before and after you have someone in your home to reduce the spread of germs.

If you, or your guests, have small children, it may be worth giving the toys a good clean. We all know what kids are like when it comes to muckiness at the best of times!

It isn’t necessary to use harsh chemicals to clean your home after you have someone in your ‘bubble’ unless they start to display symptoms.

As shops are now open what are some ways that people can be safe while out in town shopping?

Wear a mask. It limits the spread of infection and protects those around you. It’s sensible and a good thing to do for each other and the wider community. You can utilise old t-shirts and create your own or purchase an inexpensive cloth mask online or from a shop.

Make sure you have hand sanitiser and/or cleaning wipes to hand, as these can be used for anything you take with you so you can clean it before heading home, or if you might be hopping on public bikes, which people will have used before you.

You may also want to use disposable gloves when shopping particularly if you won’t be going home to wash your hands for a long period of time. Carrying hand sanitiser is also an option to reduce any cross contamination.

We would also recommend you only touch things you are going to purchase to reduce the spread of germs to yourself and others.

When you return home, think about where you are placing your bags down. If putting them on to your worktops, place them on top of kitchen roll or some cardboard so it’s not touching the surface and you have an extra barrier between the bag and surface. The same can be done for any home deliveries or takeaways.

In terms of their own homes, is there any advice you can offer people on how to have a cleaner lifestyle and ensure that they are reducing the spread of Covid-19 as much as possible?

It may come as a surprise, but one piece of advice we give to everyone is to stay away from cloths or sponges when cleaning as they can cling onto germs and bacteria much more than other products. We expect these will be one of the most popular items in people’s cleaning supplies, but it’s just as important to think about how you might be spreading germs throughout your home.

In place of cloths, use kitchen roll. This is a great alternative, so long as you remember to dispose of the piece you’re using for each individual area. We recommend one piece per surface – it may seem like you are wasting the roll but in the current climate, it’s better to keep the spread of germs to a minimum in any way we can. A further tip is to clean in one direction, so you wipe everything the same way.

Is there anything else you would like to add?

We would like to send a huge thank you to everyone across the UK for doing their best to stay within the government’s guidelines during this time. As lockdown eases we urge the public to continue to be sensible on social distancing, mask wearing and hand hygiene, this is absolutely crucial now to prevent a surge in cases. Remember to make sure you’re taking time to look after your health and wellbeing too.