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4.5.1 Practicing hand hygiene
All volunteer caregivers emphasised the importance of being clean themselves; washing their
hands before performing any task; washing their hands after removing the gloves:
“Before you do anything you wash your hands and make sure you are clean”
4.5.2 Practicing domestic hygiene
(Focus group 9, organisation I)
Volunteer caregivers also practiced domestic hygiene in order to break the chain of infection:
“In the morning when we get in homes, we open the windows because there is always bad
odour so you do it for fresh air. So we also clean the whole place with a disinfectant...you
check the bed, remove the soiled linen and change it and put a linen saver...”
(Focus group, organisation I)
“You must also keep their food covered. Also the patient with T.B should have their own plate
to minimise infection.” (Focus group 1 organisation A)
4.5.3 Personal hygiene on the patient
Volunteer caregivers performed personal hygiene on the patient such as washing and bathing
the patient; cleaning and bandaging their sores:
“... you bath them and also change the patient after bathing them, use vaseline and powder
on their body, use mouth wash or salt for their mouth and a gauze to clean them, you put a
bandage on their sores and them you soak and wash their linen with a disinfectant. If you
don’t have dippers you can use draw sheets or napkins but dippers are the best! So Before
anything you need the kit with everything that you need to be close to you.”
(Focus group 9, organisation I)
“...Make sure that after bathing the patient, they wear something clean. You cannot bath a
patient and still give them dirty clothes they have been wearing... It is also important to brush
and clean the teeth of the patient. You must cut their nails so that there won’t be germs.”
(Focus group1, organisation A)
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