MEDIA RELEASE
27 November 2021
Images attached - Steve Broughton, CEO and Founder SafeGroup
Electrostatic COVID-19 disinfection spraying
Cleaning a path to COVID-19 recovery and future health
The CEO of one of the UK's leading emergency soft FM specialists predicts a transformed cleaning industry can play a key role in Health Secretary Matt Hancock's vision of COVID-19 testing technologies transforming future health.
Steve Broughton, founder of SafeGroup Services, says it is an example of how COVID-19 will fundamentally change the lives of many millions of people in the UK, but not necessarily negatively.
He was commenting after Matt Hancock told a parliamentary committee of MPs the mass testing system set up to tackle COVID-19 could continue to be used to tackle other deadly diseases.
Mr Hancock wants to fundamentally change the way we identify illness and intervene early to treat it early and prevent the suffering and cost associated with serious disease.
Steve Broughton said: "I could immediately see how the cleaning industry can support his vision. We can help organisations across the UK create healthier and happier environments for staff, customers and the wider public.
"Mr Hancock's vision acknowledges COVID-19 is likely to have changed our attitude to infection for good. Early intervention to prevent serious illness will have to go hand-in-hand with more intensive disinfection in workplaces and public spaces. This will be a job for a transformed cleaning industry."
The health secretary sees the opportunity to use the UK's new mass testing capability developed to fight COVID-19 to support a radical shift towards preventing illness rather than curing it.
He also wants to challenge the British culture of "soldiering on" when illness strikes, which spreads infections to even more people, at work and through extended networks of families and friends.
In his sights are the 10,000 flu deaths recorded every year in the UK, alongside the 30,000 pneumonia deaths, many of them related to flu. Other illnesses may be suitable for the same treatment.
Matt Hancock says he wants this new "massive diagnostic capacity" to be at the centre of how the NHS treats people before they become seriously ill. Preventing serious illness would save money, not cost more.
Steve Broughton said: "This makes perfect sense. The system will be needed again for the next pandemic. And the best way to maintain such capability is to use it, develop it, and perfect it.
"This new approach will have to operate in tandem with other changes to everyday practice, also triggered by COVID-19. One of them our approach to hygiene and cleaning. New standards of disinfection are very likely to be maintained."
As a national emergency soft FM service provider, SafeGroup has been at the forefront of the fight against COVID-19 through cleaning and disinfection.
From the moment the pandemic started, its teams have been helping airports, hospitals, schools, public transport providers and many other organisations, public and private, stay operational.
Steve Broughton, who is has a degree in biology, said: "Our experience tells me the reassurance provided by effective disinfection cleaning will be vital to our continued recovery from COVID-19. Especially for encouraging people back to offices and other high functioning workplaces.
"Many people place huge hopes on vaccines. But their true effectiveness is not yet clear. Many others will refuse to be vaccinated. It could be a year before full benefits begin to be realised. In the meantime, COVID-19 cleaning will be essential."
Steve Broughton's company is now working with many national retailers to support the reopening of stores ready for the most important Christmas sales period of the last half century.
He said: "I believe, the pandemic has also changed our attitudes to hygiene, probably for good. Which is why more intensive cleaning is here to stay. Matt Hancock's vision for preventing illness adds weight to my conviction.
"Employees, customers and the public in general will demand cleaner, more hygienic spaces. A pivot towards mass testing for illness, for example for flu, using the NHS's new capabilities will only embed that trend more deeply."
The testing system could identify individuals at risk and hotspots of infection, for example offices or a railway station. Then action will need to be taken. A key response is very likely to be specialist disinfection, a process that reassures staff, customers and wider stakeholders, including the media.
The current test and trace system is already driving this process. Before COVID-19, people struggled on at work or recovered in secret at home. Test and trace has changed that dynamic, probably for good.
Steve Broughton explained: "There will no doubt be pushback against the health secretary's vision. Personal freedoms and best use of resources will come into play.
"But we, as a business, are ready to talk to anyone about how our expertise can help develop new ideas in infection control, for the good of us all. More effective, smarter and better targeted disinfection cleaning is here to stay."
SafeGroup already had the bio-hazard expertise and capability. Led by Steve Broughton, it was quick to see the pandemic threat, investing in additional resource and technology to deliver the most effective COVID-19 cleaning service.
Steve Broughton explained: "Now we can use electrostatic disinfection spray treatment, ozone fogging and ultraviolet systems to quickly andeffectively decontaminate spaces. Then keep them safe through on-going treatment."
The benefit of COVID-19 cleaning was demonstrated when Channel 4's Dispatches tested trains and buses for COVID-19 and found no traces. It went on to praise Transport for London's decontamination programme.
It was a great message for TfL. It was also good for SafeGroup because its teams carry out electrostatic spraying of 75% of London buses. TfL's reputation for providing safe public transport was enhanced.
Ends
For more information, contact Andy Comber
07889 630440| 01952 883526
About SafeGroup
SafeGroup provides integrated emergency soft FM and specialist waste management services. It previously operated under three brands, CleanSafe, WasteSafe, and PestSafe.
The company operators four depots, nationally, and operates in all commercial and industrial sectors, including healthcare, transport, logistics, construction, manufacturing and education.
Key services include COVID-19 cleaning, fire and flood cleaning and waste management, crime scene cleaning, fly-tip clearance, hazardous waste removal and advanced pest solutions, including pest proofing.