Job shadowing to France from 18 to 21 March 2025

What are the cleaning requirements in healthcare institutions in France?
We searched for answers to this question during a two-day job shadowing to France.
Participants were from consortium members from SA Narva Hospital, SA Viljandi Hospital, SA North Estonia Medical Centre, and AS East Tallinn Central Hospital. In addition to consortium members, West Tallinn Central Hospital also participated. The study visit was supported by Erasmus+ consortium mobility projects no. 2023-1-EE01-KA121-VET-000133792 and 2024-1-EE01-KA121-VET-000236654.

The focus of the job shadowing was on hospital cleaning processes and the vocational training of cleaning staff.
The job shadowing was organized by CHI Caux Vallée de Seine hospital and the GRETA Normandie training network. The host organization was IFPRA.

The job shadowing to Rouen provided valuable knowledge about hospital cleaning processes and training methods in educational institutions. We interacted with professionals and practitioners from our field and had the opportunity to experience real working conditions and training practices within an educational institution.

Job shadowing at CHI Caux Vallée de Seine hospital gave us insights into:

• The use of steam cleaning for deep cleaning in operating rooms – this method is effective and helps reduce chemical residues in sensitive areas.

• Avoiding chemical residue when cleaning with disposable cloths

• Need-based cleaning of patient rooms – cleaning is done based on actual need rather than routine, helping reduce over-cleaning

• Accurate and diverse waste sorting – in France, even aluminum and electronic waste is sorted separately

• Laboratory control of operating room cleanliness – ensuring that all rooms meet high hygiene standards

During job shadowing at the GRETA Normandie training, we gained knowledge about:

• INHNI’s high-quality training programs, which provide strong basic skills for cleaning work in hospitals and care homes

• The use of educational games in training, which make complex topics – such as isolation procedures and personal protective equipment – understandable and memorable for learners

Ideas for the future
One important insight was the potential of steam cleaning in Estonia as well, especially for cleaning medical devices. There was also an idea to develop similar learning materials and educational games in Estonia to support the training of cleaning staff in healthcare institutions. Feedback from participants was very positive – the job shadowing experience was inspiring and brought many new ideas and points of discussion on how to further develop hospital cleaning processes in Estonia more consciously and effectively.