Case Study – Churchill and The Royal College of Anaesthetists

Churchill won the RCoA contract in November 2019 following a competitive tender process. The scope comprises general and specialist cleaning services, as well as washroom and window cleaning across the college estate. The partnership was in its infancy when the pandemic hit, meaning the agreed scope was put to one side as Churchill pivoted to provide the necessary support to keep the buildings safe and hygienic.

The challenges

Churchill won the RCoA contract in November 2019 following a competitive tender process. The scope comprises general and specialist cleaning services, as well as washroom and window cleaning across the college estate. The partnership was in its infancy when the pandemic hit, meaning the agreed scope was put to one side as Churchill pivoted to provide the necessary support to keep the buildings safe and hygienic.

Churchill account manager, Fiorello Maffei, carried out a gradual restructure, including bringing in a new supervisor, which resulted in improved levels of cleanliness. Fiorello is a centre for excellence trainer and personally trained new recruits.

Teams worked in two-hour shifts and altered their approach following the onset of the pandemic. A ‘refresh’ cleaning operative came for two hours to clean toilets, including sanitising key touchpoints. Another came for two hours each afternoon to manage waste and carry out sanitation work towards the end of the day.

The cleaning schedule is completely flexible depending on building occupancy levels. All touch points are currently cleaned three times every day – a morning core clean, lunch clean with a focus on bathrooms, and an afternoon clean with a focus on key touch points. The most successful solution was the implementation of PRISM, our workplace hygiene and safety programme.

Workplace hygiene and technology

PRISM supports those responsible for facilities, premises and estates, and employee wellbeing to create safe and hygienic workspaces. The programme is underpinned by three pillars – science, people and technology.

Science is the primary driver and employs Total Viable Count (TVC) swabbing to generate an auditable bacteria count. A count of less than 200 is considered acceptable; we flag any areas with a higher count as requiring actionable change.

We worked with the client to identify a number of high-risk locations for swabbing, including reception areas, door handles, lift buttons and kitchen appliances. Samples were analysed in a laboratory and any environment with an aerobic count outside the recommended limits was flagged for additional cleaning action.

We rotated swabbing locations at the RCoA to ensure that many environments were being regularly tested. The client was delighted with the insight provided by the auditing as it meant data could be used to make informed decisions about cleaning and hygiene provision.

Areas that had a higher aerobic count were treated accordingly, whether that meant more frequent cleaning or deeper cleans. Swabbing following these efforts showed a much lower bacteria count and demonstrated that PRISM was effective.

As of May 2022, every single high-risk touchpoint had a TVC of 20 or below – significantly lower than the acceptable rate. This has been critical in reassuring building users that hygiene and sanitation was being treated as a priority. The buildings under Churchill’s care maintained an excellent level of cleanliness and hygiene throughout the pandemic, allowing the RCoA to continue its work with minimum disruption.