1. CLEANING MEDICAL CENTRES
by Sue Cook
http://cleanercleaning.info/
How should I go about obtaining a cleaning contract for a medical centre?
Probably the best way is to look under your Local Authority jobsite for cleaning companies who have the contract
already, as this type of cleaning requires certain standards to be adhered to, such as Health & Safety, lone working of
individuals and purchasing of specialist cleaning products.
The overall company behind the medical centre, be it NHS or Private, would be unlikely to take on an independent
cleaner, so it would be a case of being employed by an existing cleaning firm.
Should I be successful in securing a position, what type of cleaning is involved?
Disposing of MEDICAL WASTE:
One of the principle differences between cleaning medical centres as opposed to offices or residential cleaning is
handling the medical waste.
Don't be put off! The medical waste is put into specialist bins containing bright orange or yellow bags, but the type of
waste will mainly be swaps, dressings and sundry medical items but WILL NOT contain syringes, so there is no danger
of hurting yourself or cross-contamination.
Syringes are disposed of in SHARPS BOXES, which are hard, plastic boxes to be disposed of in the same way as the
medical waste bags.
To make the job of changing the medical bin bags more pleasant, you can always use some strong-smelling nasal spray
or ointment before taking the used bag from the bin, as there may be an odour.
Where do I dispose of these medical waste bags and Sharps boxes?
There will be bright yellow container bins outside the premises; simply unlock them with the key provided and pop
them in then lock up.
SANITISING of sinks and worktops:
You will be provided with specialist cleaning materials to ensure the sinks used by the medical staff are sanitised; these
products may be a Medical Sanitiser or a Spray Bleach, both in plastic bottles. Simply spray the sink and worktop
surrounding it and then wipe clean with paper towels or, better still, a microfibre cloth, which you can wash out and
reuse, as these cloths buff up the sinks well, especially stainless steel ones.
Preparing the medical rooms:
You will also have to check the patient beds you will find in each room, ensuring there is a fresh paper roll laid out on
the bed. Wipe down the bed frame and the curtain rail over the bed itself, as these can become dusty. Wipe door
handles. Other things to check are that the paper towel dispensers are full and also the hand soap dispensers.
General cleaning:
You will then need to:
Polish the desks; avoid moving any paperwork, dust round it and then "tap" the computer keyboards upside down to get
the dust and dirt out from between the keys - you will be surprised how much dirt gathers there in daily use! Wipe down
window ledges.
Clean the toilets, also checking that the paper towel, toilet roll and hand soap dispensers are all full.
Vacuum the floor and mop any hard surfaces, adhering to the colour-coding of buckets and mops according to the area
you are cleaning.

2. A quick reminder of COLOUR-CODING is:
YELLOW: surgeries
RED: Toilets
GREEN/BLUE: General areas, such as entrances and corridors
Tidy the reception area and waiting room, as patients have a habit of leaving magazines and leaflets lying around on the
benches!
Following a ROUTINE:
So, as you can see, there is quite a lot to it, isn't there?!
As a general rule, if you are methodical and follow a system of cleaning, you will not miss anything and will always do
the job to the same standard;
so your routine should go something like this:
Empty all the "ordinary" bins, collecting the rubbish in black bags and putting fresh bin bags in all bins.
Bag up the black bags and leave near the EXIT so it will save time when you come to dispose of them in the container
outside.
Empty all the medical waste bags (what colour were these again?! - Orange or Yellow!) and replace the bins with fresh
bags.
As before, leave by the exit, ensuring they are not in the way.
Hopefully, by this time, the place will be virtually empty, as it is much easier to clean without staff and patients around
you!
Go round the offices and doctors' surgeries and do any light dusting of desks and ledges.
Then vacuum.
Sanitise sinks and worktops; wipe over beds and over bed rails. Wipe door handles.
Last thing to do before disposing of rubbish is - mop the hard floors.
Take rubbish out and place in containers provided.
You will have to check all LIGHTS ARE OFF AND DOORS SHUT, if you are the last to leave, and most probably set
the ALARM; this will either be a fob or a key-coded pad.
How can I increase my earning potential?
To be fair, this type of cleaning is quite exacting and physically demanding, so don't be tempted to take on too many
surgeries; you can probably maintain up to four hours working at these standards, no more.
To find out more great tips and advice like this please feel free to visit our website
http://cleanuptheprofits.weebly.com/
to get a great FREE ebook and also we have a superb CD with FREE shipping Worldwide!
We also highly recommend this great Instant Office Cleaning Kit that you can
get some fantastic tips, help and advice