Last updated on August 29th, 2017 at 10:48 am

Clean your hands campaign

The World Health Organisation (WHO) states that thousands of people die every year around the world from health care acquired infections. One of the main ways in which infection is spread in healthcare is on the hands of healthcare staff, yet with good hand hygiene the majority of these infections are preventable.

The National Institute for Care Excellence (NICE) also points out that 1 in 16 people being treated on the NHS will develop a hospital acquired infection such as meticillin-resistant staphylococcus (MRSA).

‘My 5 Moments for Hand Hygiene’

Poor hand hygiene threatens patient safety. Good hand hygiene is the single most effective way to prevent healthcare-associated infections. As such the WHO sought to standardise hand hygiene practices across the globe, introducing ‘My Five Moments for Hand Hygiene’.

‘5 Moments’sets out the most important times when health-care workers should perform hand hygiene to help prevent the spread of infection:

1. before touching a patient
2. before clean/aseptic procedures
3. after body fluid exposure/risk
4. after touching a patient, and
5. after touching patient surroundings

Clean your hands! Prevent the spread of germs

Cleaning your hands can prevent the spread of germs, including those that are resistant to antibiotics and everyone should be aware of the importance of good hand hygiene both at home and in hospital.

NHS England says that:

When visiting someone in hospital, always clean your hands using soap and water or alcohol hand-rubs. Do this when you enter or leave a patient’s room or other areas of the hospital. Effective hand decontamination relies on an effective technique, which includes:

• wetting hands with warm water
• applying an adequate amount of (preferably liquid) soap
• rubbing this thoroughly onto all hand surfaces (for at least 10 to 15 seconds)
• rinsing thoroughly
• drying thoroughly, preferably with disposable paper towel
• taps should be then turned off with the paper towel to avoid recontaminating the hands
• Alcohol hand-rub can only be used if hands are free from soiling. The hand-rub needs to be thoroughly rubbed into all hand surfaces until hands are completely dry.

Watch WHO’s video outline a patient’s journey.

Infection can lead to injury and illness

It is not only the failure to take precautions against the risk of infection that can cause damage and loss.  In some cases, it is the failure to recognise signs of infection and to provide appropriate medical treatment that can lead to catastrophic injury and disability.

If you or a relative have suffered as a result of a hospital acquired infection, you may be entitled to claim compensation.  For a confidential discussion, in which we can advise whether or not you may have a claim, please contact our experts today.

You can read more about compensation for hospital infections on our web pages.