As part of its emergency response, the UK Government is deploying Vernacare’s disposable bedpans and urinals, together with its bedpan supports and hygienic commode chairs, to help doctors treating Ebola in Sierra Leone.
The company has dispatched an express order of its infection prevention products to the Werst African country; it says this will eliminate the risk involved in using re-usable plastic, ceramic, and stainless steel bedpans and urinals, which, if not properly decontaminated, present a major safety threat.
Emma Sheldon, global marketing director for Vernacare, who is pictured overseeing the dispatch of Vernacare’s single-use disposable products to Sierra Leone, said: “Since Ebola is spread via bodily fluids, handling the faeces, urine, or vomit, of infected patients presents a risk. Our single-use products will hold waste for long periods without any chance of leaking, and can be disposed of safely after use – providing assurance to both patients and healthcare workers. Our commode chairs, which are used in conjunction with disposable bedpans, dismantle – to enable effective cleaning and decontamination after use.
“We are proud to play our part in helping to stem the spread of Ebola, and stand ready, as a company, to increase production, and to issue other products in our range, such as vomit and wash bowls, to meet further global demand.”
Department of Health guidelines state: ‘For non-ambulant patients, disposable bedpans should be used, the contents to be solidified with high-absorbency gel.” This is a best-practice method used across leading hospitals globally, where Vernacare’s Vernagel absorbent powder is used in bedpans to solidify liquid waste and avoid spillages of urine and diarrhoea.
The ‘Vernacare System’ of infection prevention was invented 50 years ago in Bolton. It works by replacing traditional re-usable waste management products, such as urinals, bedpans. and wash bowls, with hygienic containers – made from renewable natural fibre. These then disintegrate after use when placed in Vernacare’s Vortex disposal machines, which use a fast cold water process to liquidise the waste – producing a free- flowing slurry that is easily accepted by sewerage systems, and is discharged to the drains. Alternatively, the disposable items can be placed in clinical waste systems.
Other ancillary products have also been developed, such as the Vernacare commode chair, cleaning and disinfecting wipes, cleansing foams, and an indicator tape to place around toileting equipment to signal that it has been properly cleaned.
Vernacare’s products are exported to 48 countries, and are used across the NHS to prevent infection.
