Standards and compliance
What does CQC-ready cleaning actually mean?
Clinical-grade, documented cleaning that supports infection prevention and control: colour-coded equipment, the right disinfectant at the right dilution and contact time, clear separation of clinical and non-clinical areas, disciplined cleaning of high-touch surfaces, and written schedules and audit records that prove it. Inspectors look for a visibly clean practice and the paperwork showing it is consistent.
Does CQC publish its own cleaning standards?
No. Inspectors commonly assess cleanliness against the National Standards of Healthcare Cleanliness published by NHS England, alongside the CQC regulations on safe care and premises, and HTM 01-05 for dental practices. The 2025 edition replaced the 2021 version. How each element applies to a small practice varies, so we agree your scope in writing, item by item.
What changed in the 2025 National Standards?
Cleaning is set by risk category rather than a single generic schedule, so a consulting room and a waiting area are specified differently. The standards also expect responsibilities to be split clearly between cleaners, clinical staff and estates, and they emphasise frequent audits that show the cleaning is working, not just a schedule on paper.
Do you replace our in-surgery decontamination?
No. Instrument decontamination and between-patient cleaning stay with your clinical team under HTM 01-05 and your own IPC policy. We provide the environmental clean: treatment-room surfaces, waiting areas, washrooms, floors and periodic deep cleans, to a clinical standard that complements your routines.
Who is responsible for what?
It is a shared job. On a typical GP or dental site, the cleaning contract covers only part of everything listed in the national workbook. Some tasks sit with nursing staff, some with estates. We work through the list with your practice manager and lead nurse and record the split so nothing is missed or assumed.
Method on site
How does colour coding work?
Equipment is separated by zone so it never crosses contamination boundaries. Red is for toilets, washrooms and sluices. Blue is for consulting rooms, reception and general areas. Green is for kitchens and refreshment areas. Yellow is for clinical, isolation and infection-risk areas. The yellow category is the one general cleaners most often miss.
What is the order of cleaning in a room?
Clean to dirty and low-touch to high-touch. We detergent-clean first, then disinfect touch points, use a fresh mop head for every room, and finish with washrooms, always in their own colour zone.
Which disinfectants do you use?
Neutral detergent for routine cleaning, and disinfectants that are compatible with your surfaces and tested to the relevant standards, such as BS EN 14476 for viruses and BS EN 13727 for bacteria. For spills we use chlorine-based solutions as set by your IPC policy, typically 1,000 ppm for general use and 10,000 ppm for blood and body-fluid spills. Every product has a COSHH assessment in your file.
Why do you avoid aerosol sprays in dental surgeries?
Aerosols can carry contamination through the air and onto clean surfaces. In surgeries we use disposable cloths and low-residue disinfectants applied to the cloth, not sprayed into the room.
Do you offer fogging?
Where appropriate, as an adjunct only. Fogging and air sanitisation follow a thorough manual clean and never replace one.
What do you do after a suspected outbreak?
We isolate the affected area, use dedicated single-use or thermally disinfected equipment, apply the disinfectant concentration your IPC policy requires and finish with a terminal clean. Everything done is recorded.
Records and audit
What is in the inspection file?
Room-by-room cleaning schedules with frequencies by risk, method statements and risk assessments, COSHH data sheets, signed visit records and monthly audit scores, an incident and corrective-action log, and training and DBS records for your assigned team. It stays on site so you can hand it to an inspector in minutes.
How are deep cleans documented?
Each deep clean is photographed before and after and written up in a report, which is added to your audit file digitally. It shows what was cleaned, when, by whom and to what standard.
What are ATP swabs and what do they show?
An ATP swab measures organic residue on a surface and gives a reading in seconds. We use it to check that cleaning has been effective and to track trends over time. It is an assurance tool, not a test for specific pathogens, so we pair it with visual checks and UV marker audits.
Why does the cleaning cupboard matter?
It is usually the clearest sign of how the rest of the cleaning is going. We keep colour-coded equipment stored by zone, microfibre mops left to dry on a bar rather than standing in a bucket, mop heads replaced on a set routine, COSHH sheets displayed and a signed site register completed each visit.
Working with us
Who will actually clean our practice?
A small named team who learn your rooms and your workflow. Every operative is enhanced DBS-checked and trained in infection prevention, hand hygiene, PPE, spillage response, sharps and waste handling, COSHH and confidentiality before their first shift, then assessed on site.
What happens if a cleaner is off sick?
We keep trained standby cover who are introduced to your site in advance, so a trained person arrives at your door and the clean is not missed.
How is pricing set?
As a fixed monthly price against a written specification, based on your rooms, risk categories and hours, rather than an hourly rate. The free site assessment comes with a written specification and no obligation.
Do you work out of hours, and how do you handle access?
Yes, most clinical cleaning happens after the last patient. Keys, alarm codes and access arrangements are agreed in writing, and we treat patient areas, records and screens in confidence.
