Study Visit to France March 18 – 21, 2025

What are the requirements for cleaning in healthcare facilities in France? We sought answers to this question during a two-day study visit to France. The study visit included consortium members from Narva Hospital Foundation, Viljandi Hospital Foundation, North Estonia Medical Centre Foundation, East Tallinn Central Hospital AS, and West Tallinn Central Hospital. The study visit was supported by Erasmus+ consortium learning mobility projects No. 2023-1-EE01-KA121-VET-000133792 and 2024-1-EE01-KA121-VET-000236654.

The job shadowing focused on hospital cleaning processes and training cleaning staff in vocational education. The job shadowing was organized by CHI Caux Vallée de Seine Hospital and the GRETA Normandie training network, with IFPRA as the host organization.

The study visit to France provided valuable insights into hospital cleaning processes and training methods in educational institutions. We interacted with professionals and practitioners in our field and had the opportunity to experience real working conditions and the training practices of educational institutions.

Job shadowing at CHI Caux Vallée de Seine Hospital provided us with insights into:

the use of steam cleaning for deep cleaning operating rooms – this method is effective and helps reduce residue in sensitive areas.
Preventing residue buildup when cleaning with disposable cloths
needs-based ward cleaning – cleaning is performed according to actual need, not always by routine, helping to reduce over-cleaning.
precise and comprehensive waste sorting – in France, even aluminum and electronic waste are sorted separately.
laboratory testing for operating room cleanliness – to ensure that all rooms meet high hygiene requirements.

Job shadowing at the GRETA Normandie training network provided us with insights into:

INHNI’s high-quality training programs, which provide strong fundamental skills for cleaning work in hospitals and nursing homes.
the use of educational games in training, which makes complex topics – such as isolation procedures and personal protective equipment – understandable and memorable for learners.

Thoughts for the future

One important insight was the potential of steam cleaning in Estonia as well, especially for medical devices. The idea also arose to create similar educational materials and games in Estonia to support the training of cleaning staff in healthcare facilities.

Feedback from participants was very positive – the job shadowing was inspiring and led to many new ideas and discussion points on how we could develop cleaning processes in Estonian hospitals even more consciously and effectively.
Artikli autor: Helge Alt