Schülke & Mayr UK
With over 135 years of infection prevention experience, schülke has a range of products for body decontamination, water-free bathing, wound care, hand hygiene; and surfaces and instruments cleaning and disinfection – all formulated to reduce the risk of healthcare associated infections.
The octenisan® range includes a wash lotion and mitts, mouth wash and nasal gel; ideal for preoperative decontamination before elective procedures. For patients on Intensive and Critical Care Units, octenisan® wash mitts and new esemtan® sensitive wash mitts provide gentle, water-free cleansing.
The gigasept® and thermosept® ranges offer products for manual and automated disinfection and cleaning of surgical instruments and endoscopes.
Approach to Healthcare
schülke’s overriding mission is to “Protect lives worldwide”, through the research and development of effective, innovative and sustainable infection prevention products. Our approach to innovation in healthcare can be described as “listening in action”.
By listening to healthcare professionals, we develop products that are needed in practice to help prevent healthcare-associated infections. For example, many Trusts are switching to water-free hygiene for their most vulnerable patients and octenisan wash mitts are frequently used as part of a 5 day body decontamination strategy. After the 5 days, a gentle wipe for everyday patient use was requested. We listened and introduced esemtan® sensitive wash mitts, which offer gentle, water-free care for patients on intensive and critical care units.
Impact of Product/Services on Healthcare
Healthcare-associated Infections continue to pose a serious risk to patients and staff. This risk may be compounded by the threat of antimicrobial resistance. schülke continually develops a comprehensive range of topical solutions, formulated for efficacy, compatibility and sustainability without increasing resistance.
Our octenidine-containing range includes products for water-free patient hygiene, pre-operative decontamination and wound care. Octenidine dihydrochloride is a topical broad-spectrum antimicrobial, with no known resistance to multi-resistant bacteria, good skin compatibility and a residual antimicrobial effect up to 48 hours. In a large trial, washing with octenidine‐ impregnated washcloths reduced the risk of ICU‐acquired primary bacteraemia by 17%.
Innovation
schülke has an ongoing commitment to develop solutions that meet the specific requirements of hospitals, community care and healthcare professionals. We
constantly strive to innovate and introduce new products, as well as updating older ones to meet the needs of infection prevention experts. We rely on continuous research and development to create products that are backed the latest clinical data.
For example, evidence linking the role of water in the transmission of infection to patients in ICUs has increased in recent years, with up to 22% of HCAIs being related to water. Schülke has developed a range of wash mitts for water-free patient bathing together with educational materials for health professionals.
Future Direction
Healthcare-associated Infections (HCAIs) continue to pose a serious risk to patients and healthcare professionals. Our focus on actively listening to the needs of infection prevention experts will not stop, and we will continue developing and delivering products which are supported by evidence-based research.
Our innovative products provide sustainable solutions that consistently pursue the goal of protecting lives worldwide. The needs of patients and health professional are at the heart of everything we do. Whatever challenges lie ahead, we will meet them with products that actually make a difference to lives.