Why hand washing is important in hospitals

But this has to be supported by clear messaging around the importance of hand hygiene in reducing the spread of HAIs. Training initiatives around best practice and the benefits of hand hygiene are important too.

Use real-life, personal stories regarding the human cost of HAIs to appeal at an emotional level. Hand hygiene is the single most important intervention that hospital workers can undertake to prevent HAIs. Hands are frequently implicated in cross-infection and effective hand hygiene is critical for protecting patients, staff and visitors from acquiring potentially pathogenic microorganisms.

When hospital workers comply with hand hygiene practices, it can drastically reduce the spread of HCAIs. This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful.

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If you disable this cookie, we will not be able to save your preferences. This means that every time you visit this website you will need to enable or disable cookies again. Skip to content Skip to navigation. Many of our facilities also have programs in place for direct feedback and coaching for staff members who were observed forgetting to perform hand hygiene. I care for patients with compromised immune systems who are getting chemotherapy or having surgery. It is my job, and the job of the other nurses, to keep our patients safe, free from harm and free from infection.

Our team knows that clean hands save lives. In the center of our unit, we have a pledge board for hand hygiene, where we all have added our names. Everyone signs it as a promise to keep safe all the patients we touch. We all share the same goal: to look out for the safety of our patients.

We actively remind one another to perform proper hand hygiene with proper hand-washing or hand-rub techniques while caring for patients. I am happy to be part of a team committed to practicing proper hand hygiene, keeping patients safe, eliminating infections and preventing harm. Patients and families are encouraged in the patient handbook to speak up and ask health care providers if they washed their hands prior to entering the patient room.

Patients and visitors should wash their own hands often, including before eating, after using the restroom and after touching any surface in the hospital room.

A: Hospital patients are most at risk of developing infections, particularly when they have a surgical wound or are receiving medicines or fluids through a tube into their body. We insist all staff; visitors and patients observe the highest standards of hand hygiene to minimise this risk.

If you think a member of staff may have forgotten to clean their hands before touching you or something used in your care, please remind them. If you feel uncomfortable asking a member of staff, please discuss your concerns with the nurse caring for you so the matter can be followed up. However, studies show that on average, healthcare providers clean their hands less than half of the times they should. This contributes to the spread of healthcare-associated infections that affect 1 in 31 hospital patients on any given day.

Every patient is at risk of getting an infection while they are being treated for something else. Even healthcare providers are at risk of getting an infection while they are treating patients.

Preventing the spread of germs is especially important in hospitals and other facilities such as dialysis centers and nursing homes.

Healthcare providers should clean their hands before and after every patient contact to protect themselves as well as their patients from infections.