Cleanzine: your weekly cleaning and hygiene industry newsletter 18th April 2024 Issue no. 1110
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Xenex germ-zapping robots arrive in Spain; Clece chooses Xenex for hospital disinfection
Xenex Disinfection Services today announced that Clece, Spain's healthcare provider of cleaning, maintenance, catering and social services, has chosen Xenex Germ-Zapping Robots for room disinfection at hospitals in Spain and Portugal.
Clece has deployed Xenex robots at the Vall d'Hebron University Hospital in Barcelona, where they will be used to supplement the hospital's cleaning and disinfection procedures. Clece will also implement Xenex robots at Ram-n y Cajal in Madrid.
Infections caused by superbugs like Clostridium difficile (C.diff), Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE) are a global problem and Xenex is a proven solution for destroying the deadly microorganisms before they can bring harm to patients and healthcare workers.
Xenex's germ fighting robots take cleaning and decontamination to the next level by using pulsed xenon, an environmentally-friendly inert gas, to create full spectrum, high intensity ultraviolet (UV) light that quickly destroys infectious germs. The robot destroys C.diff spores and other microorganisms in less than five minutes, and Xenex has peer reviewed, published outcome studies showing a greater than 50% decrease in C.diff, MRSA and multi-drug resistant organism (MDRO) infections when those hospitals used the Xenex robots to disinfect rooms.
"Xenex germ-zapping robots are already in use in nearly 300 hospitals in the United States, with infection rate reductions reported in several medical journals," notes Mike DelVacchio, senior vice president of sales & marketing at Xenex. "We have been very diligent about our international expansion and ensuring that we find the right partners who share our passion for patient safety. We congratulate Clece for bringing this technology to Europe and we look forward to global deployment of our robots to stop the suffering caused by hospital acquired infections.
"Xenex is ideal for use in hospitals worldwide as we have patented protocols for use in multi-bed wards. The robot's speed enables it to disinfect areas and rooms quickly so it can be used throughout the entire facility, including multi-bed wards, to enhance patient and healthcare worker safety."
The Xenex robot is designed for speed, effectiveness and ease of use, which allows Clece's cleaning staff to operate the robot without disrupting hospital operations. With a proven five-minute disinfection cycle, the robot can disinfect 30 - 62 hospital rooms per day (according to Xenex customers), including patient rooms, operating theatres, equipment rooms, emergency rooms, intensive care units and public areas. Nearly 300 hospitals, Veterans Affairs, DoD, skilled nursing facilities, ambulatory surgery centres and long-term acute care facilities in the US use Xenex robots.
Jose Luis Mu-oz Garrid, director de Hospitales de Clece, says: "The Xenex robots will complement our current methods of cleaning and disinfection of surfaces in hospitals.
"There are many UV disinfection technologies out there, but only Xenex doesn't contain mercury bulbs and is proven and published in peer reviewed journals to work in the hospital environment and reduce infections. We will use the robots for the terminal room cleaning of patients infected or colonised with multi-drug resistant microorganisms, because those rooms pose the biggest threat to patient safety.
"Being able to provide hospitals with this proven technology is an example of Clece's commitment to innovation and excellence in service. The Xenex robots are capable of destroying non-enveloped viruses in just minutes, so they will play a major role in our infectious disease outbreak protocols."
Clece is a multi-company leader in providing integrated services to companies. With nearly 70,000 employees and a presence throughout Spain, including 11,000 employees in Catalunya, Clece provides cleaning services, maintenance, energy, logistics, airport and social services and other professional services for all types of institutions and companies across all sectors.
16th April 2015