News posts of '2020' 'March'

Coronavirus Policy

Andway Healthcare are committed to protecting our staff, clients and community and are working closely with all
parties to minimise infection risks to provide help and advice on suitable products and practices.

At the time of writing, we have no concerns about an outbreak occurring at our offices, and we have had no confirmed
or suspected cases amongst any of our team. However, it is important that we are fully prepared in case the situation
in the UK worsens. As well as reinforcing good hygiene practices throughout the company, we have taken the
following measures: -

 We are working with our team to ensure business continuity should anyone need to self-isolate or becomes
unwell.
 Telephone, email order and advice services will remain open as usual throughout any isolation period.
 We have asked all our field-based staff to immediately report any flu-like symptoms, and where appropriate
we will send them home.
 There will be no business-related travel to hot-spot areas, and any staff returning from holidays will be
assessed before returning to work.

We are actively working with any suppliers based in hot-spot areas to ensure continuity of supply, which has so far
proved effective. We are also assured by the authorities that there is no health risk from imported goods originating in
hot spot areas due to the nature of transmission of the virus.

Andway Hygiene Policy

As an organisation we are committed to doing our utmost to help prevent the risk of infection and to reduce the spread
of infection as much as we can. We are following and will continue to follow the WHO and PHE guidelines.

 Andway staff hand sanitiser use: Andway Delivery Drivers, Service Engineers and Sales Representatives are
now provided with hand sanitiser for use between each client contact.

 We strongly advise our external based teams minimise contact with residents and your staff. We
recommend you allocate a single member of staff to accept and sign for the deliveries to minimise risks.

 Drop-off delivery only option: if you would prefer your goods to be left outside your premises to further
reduce the risk of infection please advise us at point of order.

 Sales visit option: please advise if you would prefer to meet virtually using Microsoft teams, skype or zoom.
Case notification

We undertake to advise you if any members of the Andway Team have encountered or have the virus or are selfisolating.
In return we ask you notify us immediately if you have any confirmed or reported cases of COVID-19 in your care home
or organisation.

Courier update

We are working closely with our couriers and other transport companies and will advise accordingly should they make
any procedural changes.

Thank You,
The Andway Healthcare Team

... is Lydia McEwen.

For a record breaking third time Lydia wins February employee of the month.  Many of the votes cast picked out her long working hours covering while Grace was on honeymoon training new teammate Victoria.  All the while in good spirits and looking after the needs of our clients.

Lydia is choosing a well deserved day off for her prize...

Coronavirus Help & Advice

1. It is vital you follow the contact time guidelines on each of these products to ensure its efficiency in combatting and killing virucidal and bacterial bodies.
2. Hand washing and disinfection is the key to preventing infection. You should frequently wash your hands well for at least 20 seconds and avoid touching your face with unwashed hands. If it is not possible to wash your hands, or hands are visibly clean, WHO recommend using an alcohol hand gel containing at least 60% alcohol. All Andway’s gels, product codes ALCA50, ALCA500 and ALCA5L contain over the required 60% alcohol which meets this requirement and is formulated for frequent use.
3. Practice good respiratory hygiene by catching coughs and sneezes in a tissue (or your elbow), bin tissues and wash your hands well afterwards.
4. These types of viruses do not generally survive for very long outside the body, however there is some evidence to show that some coronaviruses can persist on surfaces for several hours or days depending on environmental conditions. As the COVID-19 virus is not available for commercial testing we recommend regular cleaning and disinfection of frequently touched objects and surfaces using one of our virucidal cleaners which has numerous test data against enveloped viruses or makes Norovirus claims.
5. Pre-clean the surface first followed by a disinfection step with a 5-minute contact time.
6. We advise the use of our virucidal cleaners for precleaning to minimise the risk that the cleaning cloths becoming a source of cross contamination.  

Recommended Products

T500 - Selgiene Extreme 5Ltr
C066 - Selgiene Ultra Virucidal Cleaner 5Ltr
T066 - Slgiene Ultra Virucidal Cleaner 750ml
T500 - Selgiene Extreme Highcare Cleaner 750ml
ULTRAAX - UltraAX Virucidal & Bactericidal Disinfectant

www.nutritionandhygeneweek.co.uk

Nutrition and Hydration Week

10 key characteristics of good care are:

1. Screen all residents to identify malnourishment or risk of malnourishment and ensure actions are progressed and monitored.
2. Together with each resident, create a personal care/support plan enabling them to have choice and control over their own nutritional care and fluid needs.
3. Care providers could include specific guidance on food and beverage services and other nutritional & hydration care.
4. People using care services get in the planning and monitoring arrangements for food and drinks provision.
5. Food and drinks should be provided alone or with assistance in an environment conducive to residents being able to consume their food (Protected Mealtimes).
6. All health care professionals and volunteers could receive regular training to ensure they have the skills, qualifications and competencies needed to meet the nutritional and fluid requirements of the residents.
7. Facilities and services providing nutrition and hydration are designed to be flexible and centred on the residents using them, 24 hours a day, every day.
8. All care providers to have a nutrition and hydration policy centred on the needs of users, and is performance managed in line with local governance, national standards and regulatory frameworks.
9. Food, drinks and other nutritional care are delivered safely.
10. Care providers should take a multi-disciplinary approach to nutrition and hydrational care, valuing the contribution of all staff, residents, and volunteers working in partnership.

Age Concern (2006) reported a lack of appropriate food and absence of support with eating and drinking as one of the most frequently raised issues by older people’s relatives following a hospital admission.

Nutrition Tips:

• Using high energy and high protein foods added to the diet without increasing the volume of foods    consumed (e.g. cheese, full fat milk, butter, cream)
• Small, frequent meals consisting of nutritionally dense foods
• High energy and high protein snacks between meals
• Nourishing fluids should be maximised (milky drinks, soups, powdered supplements)
• Aim to overcome barriers to oral intake (e.g. pain, poor dentition, need for a texture modified diet, environmental and social problems)
• Consideration should be given to micronutrients. A multivitamin maybe required.

Using the above techniques can improve nutritional intake whilst ensuring the appropriate nutrition. Further advice and guidelines are available at www.thenacc.co.uk and www.bda.uk.com

NHS Nutrition and Hydration guide:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/nut-hyd-guid.pdf

Hydration

Water is essential to health but is often overlooked. This can result in vulnerable individuals missing out on the support they need to help maintain a healthy level of hydration. The medical evidence for good hydration shows that it can assist in preventing or treating ailments such as:

• Pressure ulcers

• Constipation

• Urinary infections and incontinence

• Kidney stones

• Heart disease

• Low blood pressure

• Diabetes (management of)

• Cognitive impairment

• Dizziness and confusion leading to falls

• Poor oral health

• Skin conditions

In many care homes, older residents are often affected by dehydration.  As a result, some residents are put at risk of falls, urinary tract infections (UTIs), acute kidney injury (AKI) and sepsis. UTI is a common cause for emergency hospital admission.

Hydration and Dementia

Colour contrast is vital in dementia care settings, where cognitive and perception problems can lead to falls and increased anxiety. 

A wide range of drinking aids are available - https://andwayhealthcare.com/ColouredTableware