Cardboard Wash Basins- Need help for evidence based practice!

Hello friends!

I am in my senior year of nursing school, and for our graduation my clinical group must give an evidence based practice presentation to the hospital board and our faculty.

We are comparing the use of disposable/one time use bath basin alternatives to reusing those plastic basins over and over and spreading infection.

I have been tasked with sourcing suppliers/costing of a biodegradable/recyclable/environment friendly disposable basin alternative.

Does anybody work in a hospital that uses these? if you have any info about supplier names or contact, i would really appreciate it!!

Thank you and take care!

Lauryn
Ive never heard of such a thing! Good luck with your search. Ivanna

Thanks Ivanna! I know they exist at least, and I even saw some old threads where nurses talked about them a little on allnurses.. I just need them to share the wealth!

You might want to consider researching and doing your presentation on the "bath in a bag" products-they are basically an 8 pack of wipes-they make Peri-Care wipes with special skin protector built in, and regular bath wipes with moisterizer built in that are housed in a warming device until used. A lot of hospitals use these now because studies have shown that there is a much lower infection rate compared to the plastic bath basins that become a petri dish for bacteria between uses....

I used them when I worked in a medical assessment unit we used cardboard urine bottles and pan inserts as well. They have a life expectancy of about 15 min I'd say and hot water makes it softer faster. it requires a macerator which ours had a habit of blocking up!

Why not just wipe the regular plastic bath basin with a caviwipe (which kills everything) after use?I have to admit I've never thought of our bath basins as a source of infection, but it does make sense. I think from now on, instead of just rinsing out the basin, I'm going to use a caviwipe on it.I don't know much about this subject, but it seems to me that cardboard and warm water are not a good mix.

We use them - it's the same supplier that we use for bed pans, urinals etc. I'm in tomorrow so will get you supplier details.And yes although they are meant to reduce infection our patients get a very quick wash as they start to disntegrate after 20 minutes!!!!

Cardboard and bath basin seem, by their very nature to be contradictory to me. On my unit, we're piloting a program where we label the bath basin with "BATH," the pt's room # and admit date. After each bath, they're supposed to be washed out with CHG soap and left upside down to dry. We were using the cavi wipes, but some concern was raised about any residual cleaner being left in the basin that might eventually get onto the pt's skin.

Quote from snoopy29We use them - it's the same supplier that we use for bed pans, urinals etc. I'm in tomorrow so will get you supplier details.And yes although they are meant to reduce infection our patients get a very quick wash as they start to disntegrate after 20 minutes!!!!

Thank you to everyone who suggested the bath in a bag style bath! The thing is, my group is actually researching -several- different alternatives.. and it's somebody else's job to research those! *rolls eyes* So for me to do -my- part of the project, I STILL need to present the cardboard alternative, despite the negatives of it.But, I will bring up the fact that their life expectancy is short when I present my research to my group.

Quote from snoopy29 And yes although they are meant to reduce infection our patients get a very quick wash as they start to disntegrate after 20 minutes!!!!

I realize its a little late for this message, but there is a product out there that is made from 100% recycled newspaper, is biodegradable and holds warm soapy water (110 degrees) for up to 2 hours, the maker is Vernacare. They do provide samples

Just a thought...I work in the OR, and we are not allowed to have any sort of cardboard material in the OR, in the hallways, or in the sterile supply area. Cardboard attracts roaches and silverfish. I will never forget when I was helping to move supplies from one area of the OR to another newly built suite. There were paperbags stacked in a corner. When I was removing the bags, no less than a dozen roaches came out of hiding! Plastic basins should never be reused. Microscopic scratches in plastic basins harbor bacteria. A great study would be for one of the students in your class take a swab of a used (and dried by air) basin and see what grows. On a side note, I never let my 3 year old 4 legged daughter drink from a plastic container for this very reason. Good luck with your presentation. It sounds really interesting!