Risk assessment – school

Whenever there is a case of MRSA the immediate reaction seems to be to deep clean the school. It may be time to take a careful look at the facilities and establish the worst places for MRSA spread at the school. Has anyone asked if there has been a risk assessment done for MRSA spread at the school your children attend? If not why not? “An ounce of prevention is better than a pound of cure” is a quote from Benjamin Franklin. Our schools seem to take the idea as being prevent the next outbreak by doing a deep clean and then it will go away. Stop the palliative and be proactive.

Where are some of the dangers in our schools?

Toilets

The younger the children are in the school, the more likely that there is someone who has not been taught the way to go to the toilet and wash their own hands. So the taps, the sinks, the door handles of the toilets get contaminated. How often are these areas cleaned? Then there is the flush handle on the toilet, the very spot where MRSA is going to gather.

Changing rooms

How often do the changing rooms get thoroughly cleaned? It is especially true with more senior pupils who are very competitive and tend to share towels and hygiene products. A whole new attitude must be instilled among these athletes to prevent MRSA, as they could be the next victim. Also, are the changing rooms cleaned after the weekend games or is the door locked and on Monday the games begin again? Cleaning does not happen by accident but needs to be thorough and targeted.

Sports fields

Sports fields can be natural (grass) or synthetic (plastic). Grass has an advantage. The grass grows and is cut back so there is no chance for the MRSA to build up. Also synthetic surfaces tend to cause more injuries when there is someone who slides along the surface and grazes themselves. The graze may not be much but it is enough for the MRSA to get under the skin where it can do the most damage. Even slight injuries need to be noted in some sort of accident book and treated promptly and effectively. Yes I know that sports players are the last ones to want to wimp out and see a doctor, but that is the way to get rid of this thing to see a doctor first.

I could spend a lot of time but each school needs to conduct a risk assessment of its own academic, practical and sports facilities to prevent the spread of MRSA among the school’s community. The community includes students, teachers, cleaning staff, security staff and the parents themselves.