Hand hygiene of hospital staff up at nat’l symposium

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) of the United States estimates that washing hands with soap and water could reduce deaths due to diarrheal disease by up to 50 percent. In fact, the same agency informed that through such simple act, one in four deaths from acute respiratory infections would be averted.

The same problem also exists in hospitals, nursing homes, outpatient surgery centers and even doctors’ offices wherein drug-resistant superbugs are on the rise, hospital-acquired infections costing $30 billion (P134 billion) a year, and leading to nearly 100,000 patient deaths a year, according to CDC.

Despite the fact that strict hand hygiene measures remain the gold standard for reducing infections associated with healthcare, studies show that hospital staff on average comply with handwashing protocols, including cleansing with soap and water or alcohol-based gels, only about 50 percent of the time.

Important info

This important information will be highlighted in the national symposium on hand hygiene and patient safety, which will be held on Jan. 14, (8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.) at the Dr. Enrique T. Ona Auditorium of the National Kidney and Transplant Institute, Quezon City.

The half-day symposium organized by the Department of Health and Aesculap Academy aims to provide participants (hospital chiefs, infection control heads and infection control nurse managers of tertiary and teaching hospitals) with a comprehensive overview of the new World Health Organization Guidelines on Hand Hygiene in Healthcare as well as the available tools and resources necessary for its effective implementation.

Leading the discussion is Prof. Didier Pittet, MD, director of Infection Control Program and WHO Collaborating Center on Patient Safety, University of Geneva Hospital and external lead of the WHO First Global Patient Safety Challenge. Also expected to grace the event is Health Secretary Enrique Ona and Health Undersecretary Teodoro Herbosa.

Reminder

Indeed, reminding healthcare professionals of their duty to wash hands is important, considering that in a study published last year in the journal Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology, one-third of patients surveyed at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center said they observed doctors failing to wash their hands, but nearly two-thirds said nothing to their doctor about hand hygiene (probably because of concern about appearing rude or undermining authority).

One best example to reduce the risk of hospital-acquired infections in Australian hospitals is the Five Moments for Hand Hygiene, which have been identified as the critical times when hand hygiene should be performed by the doctor and other healthcare workers (HCW):

• Before touching a patient to protect the patient against acquiring harmful germs from the hands of the HCW

• Before a procedure to protect the patient from harmful germs (including their own) from entering their body during a medical procedure

• After a procedure or body fluid exposure risk to protect doctors, nurses and staff as well as the healthcare surroundings from harmful patient germs

• After touching a patient to protect the doctors, nurses and staff as well as the healthcare surroundings from harmful patient germs

• After touching a patient’s surrounding to protect the doctors, nurses and staff as well as the healthcare surroundings from harmful patient germs.

Some other facilities have already addressed the issue through signs posted in restrooms as well as installing dispensers (alcohol-based sanitizer) along hallways. Some institutions have even installed beepers, buzzers, lights and tracking systems that remind staff to sanitize and chart—and penalize—those who don’t.