How Dettol is Helping Boost Hugiene Confidence at the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games
Dettol Pro Solutions is the Official Hygiene Partner of the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games
When it comes to staying hygienic at large events, we all want to make sure that we’re doing our bit, especially since the Covid-19 Virus* pandemic. That’s why Dettol Pro Solutions is the official hygiene partner of the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games. From talking hand sanitisers to scientific research, Dettol Pro Solutions has a range of products and services to keep everyone feeling clean and sanitised.
Dettol Pro Solutions has programmes that help your business to ensure high standards of hygiene to customers. The Pro Solutions team is able to advise your business on developing protocols for hygienic cleaning based on targeted hygiene. The team can help identify the times and places for disinfecting high touch point surfaces where viruses and bacteria transmission is most likely, thus helping to break the chain of infection, rather than carrying out time and product-heavy ‘deep cleans’ every day.
Furthermore, we can advise on how to encourage hand hygiene at key moments such as hand washing after using the toilet, and hand sanitising when coming in to contact with touched surfaces such as lift buttons.
Birmingham 2022
In just under a year of launching in the UK, Dettol Pro Solutions has already been trusted hygiene partners of COP26, Platinum Jubilee Pageant, and major brands. Now, the expert hygiene protocols are being used to promote good hygiene at Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games.
Birmingham 2022 is expected to see over one million spectators, meaning that the ability to keep the stadium and surrounding areas hygienic for the 12-day sporting event is of the upmost importance. As the Official Hygiene Partner of the Games, one of the steps Dettol Pro Solutions is taking to promote good hand hygiene, is installing more than 100 ‘talking’ hand sanitiser dispensers as an innovative way to help bring peace of mind to crowds at the biggest sporting event held in the UK since the pandemic.
The dispensers have been produced in partnership with SDI Displays Ltd, and feature an eye-catching design to help grab the attention of those passing by. The dispenser has a voice activation feature that delivers thank you messaging to people as they sanitise their hands, and a counter to show how many times the unit has been used.
The team of public health, microbiology, chemistry and behavioural scientists behind Dettol Pro Solutions have used a risk based approach to create targeted hygiene protocols. Furthermore, hand hygiene messages, and placement of hand sanitiser stations at key locations aim to educate people and drive better hygiene behaviours.
Katy Slater, regulatory director for new growth platforms at Reckitt (maker of Dettol), said: “The ultimate aim of our hygiene protocol for the Games is to provide athletes, spectators, volunteers and suppliers with peace of mind – so they can focus on enjoying the incredible sporting spectacle they’ve travelled from all over the world to see.
“We want good hand hygiene to feel second nature to anyone partaking in the Games, and for it to feel seamless so that the sport remains front and centre. There are multiple ways that our team and the team from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine – with whom we worked closely whilst developing our protocols – make this happen, and the behavioural science associated with something like talking hand sanitiser dispensers is one of them.”
Going one step further to help everyone at the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games feel reassured, Dettol Pro Solutions is also providing free hygiene packs for those who are competing and working at the Games, as well as providing specific instructions and protocols on which touchpoints to disinfect with specific products, and how frequently to do it.
The science behind the brand
Dettol is a well-known household name when it comes to cleaning and hygiene products, and to help deliver effective hygiene products and services to all its customers and businesses using Dettol Pro Solutions, the team works closely and in partnership with the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM).
In order to make the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games a success from a hygienic perspective, 15 scientists dedicated over one thousand hours of technical support to develop and deliver the hygiene protocols. The Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games will be using the same protocols devised at COP26, where results were impressive – 11 in every 1,000 people in the Scottish population were infected with COVID-19 Virus* after the event, but only two in every 1,000 people officially affiliated with COP26 tested positive, according to a report from Public Health Scotland (2021).
According to research by By Dr Lisa Ackerley, CEnvH, FRSPH, all businesses can adopt three-stage targeted hygiene protocols to disinfect high-traffic and commonly-touched areas at the right times and frequency, optimising labour resources. Dr Lisa Ackerley found that the three stages are:
- Stage 1: Identify and understand key moments and key surfaces: By working using a risk-based approach to understand the areas that may need to be cleaned more frequently in shared spaces, as well as potential hotspots that are regularly touched and shared such as lift buttons and door handles, not only can businesses help to boost confidence with patrons, but they can also ensure efficiency across their staffing teams.
- Stage 2: Reference and apply science-backed hygiene interventions: Some studies have found lack of hand hygiene after using the bathroom to be as high as 80 per cent**. Understanding these facts, Dettol Pro Solutions’ team of experts has used a number of scientific elements to determine the placement of 2,800 Dettol hand sanitiser dispensers, alongside the distribution of hygiene kits for all volunteers, staff and attendees over the 12-day event.
- Stage 3: Develop and generate hygiene understanding: The pandemic has reshaped hygiene expectations and hands, air and surfaces are key areas for hygiene.. Cleaning and the disinfection of surfaces has become a core part of our daily life, and having a clear understanding of when to practise hand hygiene is central to breaking the chain of infection which may be the cause of many diseases, not just Covid-19 Virus*.
When it comes to the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games, partnering with Dettol Pro Solutions not only means the installation and distribution of dispensers and hand sanitisers, but it also means having access to an expert team of virologists, microbiologists and medical scientists, and therefore science-backed measures, hygiene training, hygiene kits and hygiene messages backed by behaviour science.
Stuart Bainbridge, Global R&D Director, New Growth Platforms, explained that one way these measures will be brought to life at the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games is through a suite of creative assets placed in key locations. The team approached the hygiene protocols differently by suggesting putting those posters on the back of the cubicle doors.
One study found, items like this that guide people to the sink whilst using the bathroom, combined with signage and information on how to wash hands led to handwashing levels of 74 per cent.***
To find out more about the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games hygiene protocols, and how Dettol Pro Solutions could help your business achieve higher hygiene standards, visit the website here.
*Covid-19 Virus = SARS-CoV-2
**Sturgeoner, B.V.; Chapman, B.J.; Powell, D.A. University students’ hand hygiene practice during a gastrointestinal outbreak in residences: What they say they do and what they actually do. J. Environ. Health 2009, 72, 24–28.
***Sultana, M.; Mahumud, R.A.; Sarker, A.R.; Hossain, S.M. Hand hygiene knowledge and practice among university students: Evidence from Private Universities of Bangladesh. Risk Manag. Healthc. Policy 2016, 9, 13–20.