For the past 3 consecutive years, the Sultanate’s health care system has actively participated in the Clean Hospitals Day celebration in support of the global Clean Hospitals initiative. Each year, the Ministry of Health, Central IPC, issues an internal communication encouraging all health care facilities to celebrate the event locally and to use the official Clean Hospitals Toolkits available online.

The annual event in the hospitals is organized through strong collaboration among the administration; infection prevention and control (IPC); health, safety, and environment (HSE); and general services departments, as well as outsourced cleaning companies.

This year, facilities were further encouraged to complete the Healthcare Environmental Hygiene Self-Assessment Framework (HEHSF)to evaluate their environmental hygiene performance and identify areas for improvement.

During the Clean Hospitals Day celebration, hospitals conducted presentations and lectures in auditoriums and lecture halls. Some showcase a variety of educational and interactive exhibits in their main lobbies, including:

• Cleaning and disinfection exhibits displaying Ministry of Health-approved disinfectants, color-coded cleaning microfiber cloths, mops, and other modern cleaning equipment.
• Housekeeping staff demonstrations on proper cleaning procedures and surface disinfection techniques.
• Laundry Services and Integrated Pest Management (IPM) demonstrations highlighting safe and effective practices.
• Hand hygiene awareness activities conducted by medical staff, featuring educational materials and practical demonstrations.
• HSE awareness stations focusing on chemical safety, waste management, and spill response.
• Housekeeping role-play sessions illustrating the impact of hand and environmental hygiene on infection prevention.
• Food hygiene displays emphasizing safe food handling, storage, and preparation practices to prevent contamination.

To recognize their invaluable contribution to patient safety and hospital cleanliness, housekeeping staff are awarded certificates of recognition in categories such as:

• Best Cleaning Performance
• Best Ward Housekeeper in Performing Hand Hygiene Practice
• Best Employee

These awards not only celebrate their dedication but also boost morale and reinforce the essential role of cleaning personnel in infection prevention and control.

In addition, Primary Health Centers and other regional health care facilities are encouraged to conduct their own awareness activities focused on cleaning and disinfecting environmental surfaces within their settings.

What specific changes have you led that have strengthened environmental hygiene nationwide?

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the IPC Department, Oman’s Center for Disease Control and Prevention, and Ministry of Health (MoH) Sultanate of Oman, developed a series of comprehensive policies and procedures for environmental cleaning. These included specific guidance on terminal cleaning, enhanced cleaning, decontamination, and decontamination of ambulances transporting suspected and confirmed cases of contagious respiratory diseases, as well as the cleaning and disposal of contaminated medical mattresses (before COVID-19).

National Guidelines and Checklist

In 2021, the Central IPC developed the National Guidelines for Environmental Cleaning of Surfaces in Healthcare Facilities, accompanied by a national audit checklist used as a standardized monitoring tool.
The audit tool consists of 2 domains:

1. Area Audit: Performance monitoring through direct observation.
2. Facility Audit: Assessment of compliance with national guidelines and cleaning contract requirements.

The Facility Audit includes 5 core elements:

1. Administrative support
2. Infrastructure support and supplies
3. Policies and procedures
4. Training and education
5. Monitoring and feedback

Each audit uses an electronic scoring system with the following rubric, developed in Excel format:

• Met (100%): Equal to or greater than 80% compliance
• Partially Met (50%): 50% to greater than 80% compliance
• Not Met (0%): Less than 50% compliance

Overall facility compliance is summarized as:

• Satisfactory/Compliant:Equal to or greater than 90% compliance
• Opportunities for Improvement/Partially Compliant: 70 to 89%
• Unsatisfactory/Minimal Compliance: Less than 69%

The audit summary provides overall scores by element and identifies specific recommendations and opportunities for improvement.

Frequency and Responsibility

• Area audits are conducted daily or as needed by local IPC teams, based on performance data.
• Facility audits are conducted annually by the national auditing team, while in-house audits by health care facilities are biannual.

Environmental Monitoring System

The Central IPC Section developed an electronic environmental cleaning monitoring tool (Excel-based) utilizing fluorescent gel markers. The system records daily and weekly cleaning performance, showing the number of items cleaned versus missed, and calculates monthly cleaning rates.

We are conducting training on the use of this system to cleaning supervisors and IPC teams through both virtual and in-person workshops.

Integration of Environmental Cleaning National guidelines into National Contracts and Agreements

Three years ago, in collaboration with the Department of Contracts, Directorate General of Financial Affairs, the IPC Section was tasked to revise the General Services Contracts and Agreements, which are updated every 3 years. It was the first time after more than 25 years that the contract and agreement were updated. These contracts cover key nonclinical support services, including housekeeping, laundry, health care waste management, and pest control. National and regional training sessions were conducted for stakeholders to ensure understanding of both the updated guidelines and contract requirements.

The revision introduced several key improvements in housekeeping procedures:

Upgraded cleaning materials, such as color-coded microfiber cloths, mops, trolleys, etc.

Mandatory product evaluation of disinfectants by the Central Product Evaluation Team before approval for use.

Establishment of a monitoring and feedback system to ensure continuous quality improvement (provision of fluorescent marking, and addition of the adenosine triphosphate (ATP) testing for the recent cleaning contract update for 2026).

Enhanced training and education requirements, specifying core IPC and HSE topics, and requiring that all training materials of outsourced companies be reviewed and approved by hospital IPC and HSE departments with a competency training certificate.

Automated dosing system for dilution of chemicals, created a recent update of the cleaning contract agreement, which should be implemented in 2026.

Capacity Building: Hiring Cleaning Supervisors

The MoH also initiated the hiring of local national cleaning supervisors (with a minimum secondary education requirement) at each regional hospital to work in the General Services department and to directly monitor and oversee cleaning activities in collaboration with the Ministry of Labor. The national IPC team provided comprehensive training to these supervisors, while local IPC teams continue to provide ongoing education and supervision.

How did you elevate the EVS workforce?

One of the main challenges encountered in implementing environmental cleaning standards across health care facilities is the language barrier among outsourced cleaning staff. A significant portion of these workers are nonnative speakers with limited understanding of English and Arabic, the primary languages used in training and documentation.

Training with Translators

To overcome this challenge, the Central IPC has adopted a proactive approach by conducting onsite physical training sessions in all regional hospitals across the country, with the assistance of translators who speak the local languages of the cleaning staff. These sessions ensure that all participants understand the critical concepts of infection prevention and control, cleaning procedures, and occupational safety. At the facility level, local IPC and HSE teams are also conducting basic IPC and safety courses tailored to staff's language and educational level.

Assessing the Training Done by Outsource Cleaning Company

To further close knowledge and skill gaps, health care facilities are encouraged to ensure that: outsourced companies maintain a regular refresher training schedule for all cleaning staff, ensure that cleaning managers, supervisors, and inspectors are certified and competent in environmental cleaning standards and safety practices, the outsourced cleaning companies employ qualified trainers who are certified experts in IPC, Health, Safety and Environment (HSE), and housekeeping procedures, we insist that IPC teams review and verify the trainers’ credentials (curricula vitae and certificates) to ensure competency, the local IPC representatives must attend training sessions conducted by outsourced trainers to evaluate content quality and delivery, all training materials (including videos, PowerPoint presentations, posters, job aids, and audit tools) should be reviewed and approved by the local IPC and HSE teams prior to use.

Updating of cleaning contract

The old cleaning contract did not mention the qualifications of cleaning staff. However, the updated contract for 2026 clearly stated that the cleaning staff must at least speak English and/or Arabic.

What partnerships and policies made the biggest difference?

Development of National Guidelines and Compliance

The development of the National Guidelines for Environmental Cleaning Program and the National Guidelines for Laundry Services, and their proper implementation and monitoring, ensure that public and private healthcare facilities comply with the national standards.

MoH Collaboration with Private Hospitals, Non-MoH Hospitals, and Clean Hospitals

The collaboration between the MoH and the private health care sector is coordinated by the Directorate General of Private Healthcare Establishments (DGPHE). This directorate is responsible for monitoring and guiding private hospitals to ensure compliance with national IPC guidelines and standards set by national accrediting bodies, such as the Oman Healthcare Accreditation System (OHAS). These efforts aim to maintain safe health care environments and prevent health care-associated infections (HAIs) in both public and private facilities.

This year, we are encouraging private hospitals, through the DG PHE, to celebrate Clean Hospital Day and complete the HESAF survey.In addition, we also shared the awareness with our partners with Military Medical City and University Hospital, by sharing the Clean Hospitals toolkits and HESAF link to all IPC professionals in Oman in the WhatsApp group.

Over the past 3 years, the IPC Section of the MoH has been actively supporting the Clean Hospitals Program through the annual celebration of Clean Hospitals Day. During this event, all health care facilities under the MoH are encouraged to organize local activities that highlight the importance of environmental hygiene and to recognize housekeeping staff as the “invisible heroes” of infection prevention. This global celebration serves as a platform to raise awareness about the critical role of environmental cleaning in patient safety. It emphasizes the impact of contaminated surfaces in the transmission of infections, particularly multidrug-resistant organisms (MDROs), and reinforces the importance of maintaining a clean environment to protect vulnerable patients and minimize the spread of HAIs.

This year, we hope the Minister of Health will sign the Clean Hospitals pledge, demonstrating their commitment to promoting excellence in health care hygiene and environmental standards.

What Is Your Starter Playbook for Other Countries?

Countries that wish to celebrate Clean Hospitals Day and adopt best practices in environmental hygiene can take inspiration from the national initiatives successfully implemented in Oman. The Ministry of Health encourages health care systems around the world to join the Clean Hospitals network and collaborate globally to enhance environmental hygiene standards and promote patient safety.

Start Planning Now for Next Year’s Clean Hospitals Day, Oct 20, 2026

• Build Awareness
  Promote understanding of the Clean Hospitals objectives and mission among health care leaders, staff, and the community.
• Engage Leadership
  Secure commitment from administration and management to align institutional policies and resources with the mission of Clean Hospitals.
• Assess Current Practices
  Complete the HEHSF to identify existing strengths, gaps, and opportunities for improvement.
• Review and Utilize Tools
  Explore and adapt available Clean Hospitals Initiative resources and toolkits to support local implementation.
• Launch Activities
  Organize Clean Hospitals Day celebrations that raise awareness, recognize cleaning staff, and highlight the importance of environmental hygiene in preventing infections.
• Adopting Oman's Best Practices for Environmental Hygiene

Learnhow a national commitment to cleanliness, culture, and compliance is setting a global example in infection prevention.

For countries in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) or other regions seeking to replicate Oman's achievements, the following best practices are recommended:

• Develop National Environmental Cleaning Guidelines
  Establish evidence-based national standards for cleaning and disinfection processes.
• Create National Audit Tools
  Design structured audit frameworks for both area-level and facility-level assessments.
• Train Stakeholders
  Conduct national and regional training sessions for IPC staff, general services teams, and cleaning supervisors to ensure consistent implementation.
• Implement Periodic Audits for Continuous Improvement
  Schedule regular monitoring and follow-up audits to evaluate progress and sustain compliance.
• Share Audit Findings
  Disseminate national audit reports to healthcare facilities to promote transparency, benchmarking, and shared learning.
• Conduct a SWOT Analysis
  Evaluate Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats (SWOT) of the environmental cleaning program to identify future development priorities.