Exhausted by their increased workload due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Britain’s cleaners have reached a breaking point and are voting with their feet to leave the sector. According to HEFMA, the extra procedures put in place and an increased workload from covering for sick colleagues have created “a dangerous cocktail” of staff shortages and burnout.
While a workflow automation platform like mpro5 can’t solve the recruitment gap, it can help your cleaners work more efficiently and make their jobs a little easier:
When two people are cleaning a ward, it’s standard practice for them to start at opposite ends and work their way to meet in the middle. Or, one cleaner will work on the left-hand side while the other takes the right. Either way, if a cleaner attempts to tackle an area that’s already been cleaned, the app will alert them to the fact, preventing duplication of efforts and wasted time.
Importantly, the app can also log exceptions or deviations from the routine. For example, a cleaner might be assigned a room that is still being used by a doctor and patient, so with an app they can log this as a reason the clean was missed and the clean can be picked up later, once they have completed the rest of their routine.
If a clean isn’t up to scratch, instead of a supervisor wasting precious time tracking down the errant cleaner personally, instructions can be communicated clearly and efficiently via the app. Usefully, the cleaner can acknowledge receipt of the instruction and report action taken, closing the feedback loop.
mpro5 removes human fallibility and prevents things falling through the cracks. If a cleaner is told to ‘come back later’ because it’s not convenient to clean now but their shift ends, the cleaner can log this in the app the clean to be passed to the next shift automatically and it won’t be missed.
Combining your workflow platform with Internet of Things (IoT) sensors enables you to move from a rigid system of scheduled cleans, to reactive cleaning in which areas are cleaned relative to demand. That means instead of wasting time cleaning offices that haven’t been used that day, cleaners can be directed to a toilet that has experienced heavier than usual traffic and desperately needs some attention.
For managers on the ground, a digital solution gives peace of mind that cleaning activity is running smoothly, and they no longer need to constantly interrupt cleaners to check how things are going. Of course, reporting by exception is the only viable solution. (After all, no one needs an “Everything’s ok!” alarm).
Visit our healthcare page to see how mpro5 can solve your healthcare problems.