Tarkett joins the Clean Hospitals network

Every year around the world, millions of patients¹ contract a nosocomial infection² during their stay in hospital, most of which are preventable. Clean Hospitals aims to emphasize the importance of hygiene in the hospital environment and to improve patient safety.

Chaired by Professor Didier Pittet of the University Hospitals of Geneva and expert for the World Health Organization, Clean Hospitals is a non-profit association that brings together universities, research establishments, manufacturers and hospitals from different countries.

Tarkett has more than 70 years of experience in the healthcare sector and equips one in two hospitals in Europe. The Group thus intends to bring its soil expertise to the various Clean Hospitals working groups and to contribute to research work on floor cleaning and disinfection protocols. Fabrice Barthélemy, Chairman of the Management Board of Tarkett, declared: “The fight against healthcare-related infections and resistance to antimicrobial agents are two major challenges in the hospital world, issues exacerbated by the Covid 19 pandemic.

Joining the Clean Hospitals network is an important commitment to the hospital community, and we are committed to accelerating the dissemination of best practices for cleaning floors while respecting health and the environment. Clean Hospitals' scientific and collaborative approach, focused on quality of life and the safety of patients and hospital staff, perfectly matches our commitment to “HumanConscious Design”, placing people at the heart of the design of our floors. "

Professor Pittet adds: “The greatest success of Clean Hospitals is to be able to bring together the actors in the world of environmental hygiene around the same objective, in order to take the appropriate decisions. This sharing of experience and knowledge is the key and makes the uniqueness of this initiative. Collaborating with all stakeholders allows us to be responsive as a network, when there is for example a need to raise awareness, for research and innovation, as well as to support education and training . This initiative is committed to making health establishments safer by strengthening and rationalizing environmental hygiene. Clean Hospitals is pleased to welcome Tarkett. This collaboration will bring a new area of ​​expertise to the network and we know that diversity is an asset. "

Support the health community through a responsible approach to floor design, putting people at the heart of design: "Tarkett Human-Conscious Design ™"

For decades, Tarkett has been developing innovative flooring solutions by placing users at the heart of its approach: patients, caregivers, cleaning teams.

In 2013, Tarkett decided to no longer integrate biocides in the composition of its soils and promotes the best standards of cleaning and disinfection through the rational use of disinfectants. This pioneering initiative thus contributes to reducing the risk inherent in the misuse and inappropriate use of biocides leading to an effect of antimicrobial resistance.

Through this collaboration, Tarkett's objective is to contribute to the development and dissemination of the most effective cleaning protocols that respect health, the environment and biodiversity by limiting the misuse of biocides.

Clean Hospitals and Tarkett: a collaborative approach for better hygiene in the hospital environment

The Covid-19 pandemic has revealed not only the fundamental role of cleaning teams in health establishments but also the importance of the rigorous application of protocols.

The goal of Clean Hospitals is to raise standards in order to improve hospital hygiene through a scientific, evidence-based approach. The work of Clean Hospitals carried out for the benefit of public health aims to improve the prevention and control of healthcare-related infections and to reduce antibiotic resistance.

¹ - https://www.who.int/gpsc/country_work/gpsc_ccisc_fact_sheet_en.pdf
² - Nosocomial illnesses, or healthcare-related infections, refer to illnesses contracted by patients during a hospital stay.