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Housekeepers such as Marie-Claire Chihyoka follow specific cleaning protocols to ensure that rogue bacteria from hospital drains don’t contaminate patient environments.

Hospital drains are dirty, dirty places.

That’s a reality that’s hard to avoid, said Karen Stockton, Director of Infection Control at The Ottawa Hospital. Drains are full of bacteria, and there’s no practical way to clean the pipes that lie beyond the basin of the sink.

In order to stay ahead of infection-spreading bacteria, Stockton said, prevention and planning are key.

“You can’t disinfect a drain, so it’s about knowing what the risks are,” she said. “It’s about making sure the bacteria don’t get out of the drain, by following guidelines and cleaning well.”

Scientists at the U.S.-based National Institutes of Health recently published a study revealing that bacteria in hospital sinks swap genes, quickly developing antibiotic resistance. Stockton said The Ottawa Hospital has thorough measures in place to avoid contaminating patient environments with rogue bacteria.

“We train to follow specific protocols. We ensure that sinks drain properly, a splash guard is used, that sinks are used only for hand hygiene and we aren’t splashing other surfaces while using the sink.”

Stockton added that any time the hospital renovates or rebuilds, sinks are designed to fit specific, risk-minimizing standards.

Once the bacteria have been kept in the sink, housekeepers kill them with elbow grease, said Sue Batista, Director of Housekeeping Services. The Ottawa Hospital’s housekeepers use specific cleaning products, selected to kill off even C. difficile spores.

“Our cleaning standards are high and we use environmental audits to make sure we’re upholding them,” she said. “Our housekeepers are so valuable in keeping patients safe.”

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