When it comes to washing hands, nurses are the best at it and doctors are the worst. The first hand-hygiene audit at Perth public hospitals year shows 87 percent compliance among nurses and midwives, while medical professionals only managed 73 percent.
Among the tertiary sites, Royal Perth Hospital received the gong for the cleanest hands, with 86 percent compliance, while King Edward Memorial Hospital only managed 76 percent.
hygiene audits
But all health workers and hospital sites have improved in the past four years, with only 57 percent of medical professionals washing their hands back in 2014. Kathy Young, nurse unit manager for RPH’s State Major Trauma Unit and elective orthopedics, said that the hospital had been doing its hand hygiene audits since 2009 before a national program started. Since 2011, an in-house incentive program with coffee vouchers to reward staff had helped to improve rates.
The trauma unit had won many awards. Ms. Young said the staff was routinely reminded to wash their hands with gel or soap, and patients were also encouraged to ask the staff to clean their hands.
initiatives
Another initiative was to expect staff who came into contact with patients to be “bare below the elbows”
Another initiative was to expect staff who came into contact with patients to be “bare below the elbows”.
“We have signs up that reinforce to patients that it’s OK for them to ask staff to wash their hands, and that seems to have a positive effect,” she said. “Good hand hygiene is not just important for infection control in patients but also for staff.”
Specialized Surgical Sink Unit
It’s great to see Galvin Specialised Surgical Sink Unit being used to assist in hand washing compliance across some of Western Australia’s major Healthcare facilities.
Having a combination of a lever or electronic hand-washing tapware at handwash stations, focused attention on handwashing, and continuous monitoring of staff compliance reduces the risk of cross-contamination, assists in infection control, and leads to better patient outcomes.
