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Following an outbreak of Escherichia coli (E coli) in Welsh schools, the Welsh Government commissioned a public enquiry to examine the circumstances surrounding the incident.
One of the outputs from this enquiry comes in the form of the Guidance Document “Schools Toilets: Good practice guidance for schools in Wales” published in January 2012.
The very comprehensive Guidance requires that all schools must provide the basics of liquid soap, warm water and paper towels to achieve hand hygiene compliance. In terms of good practice, the document specifically recommends that every toilet facility should feature warm water which is thermostatically controlled at each basin outlet to a temperature typically around 41°C and, crucially, not so hot that it may scald, which would constitute not only a safety risk but a major disincentive to hand washing.
Encouraging and adopting best possible standards in hand hygiene practices at school will surely help to improve schools attendance levels and also create a legacy which will benefit learners outside of school hours and beyond the school years in terms of their health and wellbeing.
For assistance with sizing a suitable thermostatic mixing valve (TMV) for serving a group of basins please try out our Valve Sizing Tool.