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Healthcare Enterprise Group PLC is pleased to report a satisfactory outcome from the Rapid Review panel of the Health Protection Agency, following tests at the Hospital Infection Research Laboratory, showing that the Ebiox Handrub conforms to EN 1500.
EN1500 is the standard by which the efficacy of non-water based products is tested under practical conditions. In tests earlier this year Ebiox Handrub exceeded the standards set by EN1500 when tested against e-coli bacteria. The Handrub has previously passed prEN12054 including efficacy against other bacteria including MRSA. These earlier tests demonstrated a 99.999% reduction in all test organisms within 30 seconds, significantly exceeding the one-minute test target.
HCEG believes that the Ebiox Handrub is the first non-alcohol based product that is compliant with EU standards and has been developed to be better than alcohol as a hand hygiene solution.
The Ebiox non-alcohol Handrub decontaminates hands without drying or irritating the skin, and has been specifically designed to be user-friendly to encourage more hand cleaning than the existing washing protocol achieves.
An independent survey by Nursix has shown that two thirds of nurses reported skin problems using alcohol based products and that they would be more compliant with NHS protocols if a non-alcohol based product were available.
The Rapid Review Panel has concluded that Ebiox hand disinfectant; “may have potential value as an alternative to alcohol-based gels for hand hygiene: in use evaluations/trials are now needed in an NHS clinical setting to show acceptability in routine use”.
Stuart Bruck, Executive Chairman, Healthcare Enterprise Group, commented:
“These tests now provide a stamp of approval from the Government taking us to the next step in our bid to tackle the Hospital Acquired Infections epidemic.
“We will be guided by the Rapid Review Panel which recommends on the ground tests in an NHS setting.”
The Rapid Review Panel was set up by the Health Protection Agency in August 2004 in response to the Chief Medical Officer’s Action Area 7 in Winning Ways.
The remit of the Panel is to promptly assess new procedures and products with regard to their potential effectiveness and ability to prevent, reduce or control healthcare associated infections (HCAI).
The key element of acceptability is the demonstration of a significant effect on HCAI in the clinical setting. Ideally, this will be the result of formal clinical studies reported in peer-reviewed publications.
1 December 2004
Healthcare Enterprise Group PLC
020 7351 7500
Stuart Bruck, Executive Chairman
College Hill
020 7457 2020
Nicholas Nelson
Corinna Dorward
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