Cleanliness is next to holiness. As the song goes “I have two hands , the left and the right,hold them up high, so clean and bright ,clap them softly one, two , three.Clean little hands are good to see.”
In health care setting proper hand washing, and hand hygiene is the very essence of providing quality care and avoiding cross contamination of infections.Nurses and other health care provider should be more vigilant in doing hand hygiene. Reasons like ineffective placement of dispensers or sinks, hand hygiene compliance data are not collected and reported accurately and frequently,lack of accountability, workload , and ratio of nurse to patient affects the quality of hand hygiene.Nurses and other health care members are the vehicle in transmitting infections.Basic iprinciples of Infection Control includes standard precaution ( hand hygiene) which is the most effective way to halt the spread of infections in the hospital. According to International Journal of Infectious Diseases, April 2015 health care associated infections remain major cause of morbidity and mortality and principal mechanism response for the transmission of microorganisms in the hospital is contact with contaminated hands of health care workers.Direct observation method holds the golden standard for assessing hand hygiene compliance.Health care workers especilly nurses are in direct contact with patients with procedures such as wound dressing,intravenous catheter insertions,respiratory care. Organisms thrive not only on hands of health care workers but also on thecontaminated surface area such as patient chart,and patient surrounding. WHO recommends use ofalcohol-based formulation if your hands are not visibly soiled.
How to Hand Wash?
- Wet your hands and apply enough soap
- Rub palms together
- Rub the back of each hand
- Rub hands while interlockingyour fingers
- Rub the back of your fingers
- Rub the tips of your fingers
- Rub your thumbs and the end of your wrists
Duration 20-30 sends
WHO 5 Moments of Hand Hygiene
1.Before touching a patient
2.Before clean/aseptic procedure
- After body fluid exposure risk
- After touching a Patient
5.After touching patient environment
Every Hospital has aasigened an Infection Control Nurse making sure that Nurses and other health care member are compliant with hand hygiene. It is the most cost effective measure to prevent the spread of hospital acquired infection and definitely save lives.
By: Mrs. Gale Frances B. Fernandez | Nurse II
