Hygiena International’s Hygiena SystemSURE Plus ATP (adenosine triphosphate) monitoring system is being widely used by quality monitoring officers, ward matrons and domestic supervisors to check patient area cleanliness within the University Hospital of Hartlepool and the University Hospital of North Tees.
The instruments were originally introduced by infection prevention and control staff, and have been used for handwashing training for several years. Now every clinical in-patient area is routinely swabbed, alongside clogs within theatre, doctors’ pens and stethoscopes, and the “pods” used to deliver goods between wards and departments.
The palm-sized SystemSURE detects levels of adenosine triphosphate, a biochemical found in all living organisms and biological residues. If ATP is detected on a cleaned surface cleaning was ineffective. A swab is taken and then inserted into the handheld instrument. The result can then be displayed as a simple “pass”, “caution” or “fail”.
