What is a hygiene audit?
A hygiene audit is an examination that is conducted to determine the hygiene practices, conditions and procedures of various organisations and facilities. This is done to ensure the business in question is following established standards that are designed to keep employees and customers/other visitors safe.
In some cases, contaminations can have severe, even life-ending effects on certain individuals, so a thorough approach must be taken.
Who conducts a hygiene audit?
In the UK, depending on the business, a variety of established professionals can conduct a hygiene audit. This includes, but isn’t limited to:
- Local authority EHO’s (Environmental health officers)
- The Food standards agency
- Healthcare specific bodies
- Independently certified bodies
- Private consultants
- Internal audit teams
What do they check?
Hygiene audits conduct checks on multiple aspects that contribute to general hygiene within the facility/business. The amount being checked can vary between the type of facility/business.
For example, a facility that stores or prepares food will have checks to ensure the produce is stored correctly and has no cross-contamination. Whereas a facility that handles hazardous chemicals needs stringent hygiene standards to ensure no accidental mixing, leaks etc.
Here is a look at the general aspects that are checked during a hygiene audit:
- Procedures, frequency, effectiveness, regarding cleaning and disinfection, and the types of cleaning agents used.
- Storage, handling, and disposal of waste to prevent contamination.
- The measures in place to prevent and control pests.
- The hygiene practices of staff, including handwashing, wearing appropriate protective clothing, and health monitoring.
- Handling, storage, preparation, and serving of food to prevent foodborne illnesses (if applicable).
- Ensuring the safety and potability of water sources.
- Assessing airflow and air purity.
- Waste management is checked to ensure conditions are sanitary and users are able to easily clean themselves with the soap/taps etc provided. As well as checking the general conditions of the toilet facilities.
- Ensuring the layout and upkeep of the premises facilitate good hygiene.
- Evaluating the hygiene knowledge and training of staff.
- Reviewing documentation related to cleaning schedules, temperature logs, and other hygiene-related activities.
What is ‘medical cleaning’?
Medical cleaning is a specialised and rigorous cleaning process that is designed to ensure healthcare facilities (hospitals, labs, clinics etc) are clean and hygienic
This goes beyond a standard clean at home, it involves using specialised cleaning agents, certain equipment, and a deep knowledge of cleanliness standards. The goal of medical cleaning is preventing the spread of any infections or contaminations.
How can medical cleaning benefit a hygiene audit?
Medical cleaning benefits a hygiene audit by cleaning the environment up to cleaning and healthcare standards. Therefore, it should make any hygiene audits be successful in your favour. Below is a more extensive look at the benefits of medical cleaning for hygiene audits:
- Effective medical cleaning directly showcases adherence to essential hygiene audit criteria. Auditors will seek evidence of compliance with national guidelines, such as the National Standards of Healthcare Cleanliness 2025, and local cleaning protocols regarding frequency, methods, and product use.
- Consistent and thorough practices offer clear visual and documented confirmation of this compliance.
- When daily and periodic medical cleaning is performed well, it significantly lowers the risk of cleanliness deficiencies being identified by auditors.
- Consequently, the audit report is likely to contain fewer non-compliance issues, increasing the potential for a positive result and reducing the urgency for immediate corrective actions.
- Evidence of a proactive approach to infection prevention is crucial for auditors. Robust medical cleaning practices, such as the correct use of disinfectants on frequently touched surfaces and appropriate handling of body fluids, serve as key indicators of this commitment.
- This is further supported by cleaning records, staff infection control training logs, and the overall visible cleanliness of the environment.
- Although hygiene audits aren’t exclusively about how clean a place looks, a visibility clean environment, free from spillages, stains and hazards, creates a good impression for auditors
- This allows auditors to be more confident in the hygiene management of where they assess, as a clean space indicates a dedication to a culture of cleanliness and hygiene.
- If an acceptable quality of general cleaning is accepted by the auditors, they can spend more time focusing on broader aspects of hygiene managements that may require more than just an eye test.
- This can include exploring monitoring process, asking employees on their training and even having more time to view employees operating to see if they are following hygiene practices.
- Simply put, if you are already achieving a certain level of cleanliness, there is going to be much less work to do, if any when the result of the audit have been provided. This reduces the workload for all, saving time and resources that can be allocated elsewhere.
- Consistent audits, as well as consistent cleaning practices can contribute to a healthy culture of cleanliness, making any future audits a breeze.
How Sentrex can help you ace an audit
Sentrex has years of experience in cleaning a wide variety of facilities, including medical facilities, whether it’s our superior equipment, cleaning skills or general knowledge, we can help any facility with an audit pending.
Our cleaning services aren’t just about turning up for a scrub down we create tailored cleaning solutions for our clients. This also includes the capacity for you to provide detailed feedback, so we can remain accountable and clean to the standard you require in every instance.
Delivered to meet the high standards required by hygiene audits, this service helps keep your GP surgery or medical facility clean, compliant, and safe.
Contact Sentrex today for expert deep cleaning services tailored to medical environments.
Individualised cleaning services - perfect for hygiene audits
- Chemical degreasing
- Steam cleaning
- Pressure washing
- Power-scrubbing
- Auto-scrubbing
- Stain and spill removal
- Debris and dust removal
- Power-scraping
- Sanding, and shot-blasting
- Vacuuming
- High-speed burnishing
- Spray buffing, waxing, and stripping
- Low moisture bonnet cleaning
- Deep extraction
- Commercial carpet cleaning
- Trash clean up
- Window cleaning
- Exterior cleaning
- Cleaning of washrooms
- Deep cleaning
