Business Peak District members are here to help other businesses get through the pandemic and get back to work. This is an article by Chris Tapp of Belper Care.

This precis document is meant as a guide to try and assist businesses to consider the measures they should be taking in preparation for going back to work. It focuses specifically on the hygiene procedures that may be necessary in order to reduce the risk of a possible COVID-19 spread.

The Government has already published the following information:

1.1 Managing risk

Objective: To reduce risk to the lowest reasonably practicable level by taking preventative measures, in order of priority.

Employers have a duty to reduce workplace risk to the lowest reasonably practicable level by taking preventative measures. Employers must work with any other employers or contractors sharing the workplace so that everybody’s health and safety is protected.

In the context of COVID-19 this means working through these steps in order:

  1. In every workplace, increasing the frequency of handwashing and surface cleaning.
  2. Businesses and workplaces should make every reasonable effort to enable working from home as a first option. Where working from home is not possible, workplaces should make every reasonable effort to comply with the social distancing guidelines set out by the government (keeping people 2m apart wherever possible).
  3. Where the social distancing guidelines cannot be followed in full, in relation to a particular activity, businesses should consider whether that activity needs to continue for the business to operate, and, if so, take all the mitigating actions possible to reduce the risk of transmission between their staff.

5.3 Hygiene: handwashing, sanitation facilities and toilets

Objective: To help everyone keep good hygiene through the working day.

Steps that will usually be needed:

  1. Using signs and posters to build awareness of good handwashing technique, the need to increase handwashing frequency, avoid touching your face and to cough or sneeze into a tissue which is binned safely, or into your arm if a tissue is not available.
  2. Providing regular reminders and signage to maintain personal hygiene standards.
  3. Providing hand sanitiser in multiple locations in addition to washrooms.
  4. Setting clear use and cleaning guidance for toilets to ensure they are kept clean and social distancing is achieved as much as possible.
  5. Enhancing cleaning for busy areas.
  6. Providing more waste facilities and more frequent rubbish collection.
  7. Providing hand drying facilities – either paper towels or electrical driers.

The above Government information has been taken directly from the Government document ‘Working Safely during Coronavirus’. We recommend reading the whole document.

Where Belper Care can help:

  • Supply of Appropriate Hand Sanitiser products – 500ml bottles and 5 Litre refills
  • Supply of appropriate Cleaning/Sanitising product for cleaning all hard surfaces
  • Supply of Paper hand Towels (and dispensers) for public toilets. This is deemed preferable as against Hot Air hand driers which run the risk of blowing Covid virus if evident into the surrounding air space
  • Appropriate Pedal Bins for Paper Towel waste
  • Appropriate Hand Soap products and dispensers
  • Supply of 3 ply face masks. These are not necessary for all situations, but in some cases they can provide additional protection and assurance for staff who are having to interact with large numbers of the general public
  • Face Shields – as above

We appreciate that every individual business has its own unique environment and subsequent challenges. Please feel free to contact us at Belper Care if you require help or advice, or need to order specific product. By way of background, Belper Care is a specialist supplier of goods and services to the Care Home Sector throughout Derbyshire and surrounding counties, and hence has a good understanding of the Hygiene best practices that should be appropriate and practical for business reopening. Also please note, the supply of certain items can sometimes be disrupted due to Government intervention on key items. Equally we would caution against purchasing products through Amazon and other internet-based providers, where experience has repeatedly shown that pricing has been hiked to unreasonable levels, or stock doesn’t actually exist even though monies have been taken.

Please feel free to call: Chris Tapp – mobile 07771 747879

Or email: chris@belpercare.co.uk