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Thursday March 28, 2024

WHO focuses on ‘Save Lives: Clean Your Hands’

By Afshan S. Khan
May 06, 2016

Islamabad

This year, on the occasion of World Hand Hygiene Day falling on May 5, WHO focus was on sensitising healthcare workers (doctors, nurses, sanitary staff, etc) in the fact that hand hygiene is the single most important method of preventing and controlling infection in healthcare facilities.

Many studies have shown that the bacteria that cause hospital-acquired infections are most frequently spread from one patient to another on the hands of healthcare workers. Cleaning your hands before and after having contact with patients is one of the most important measures for preventing the spread of bacteria in healthcare settings to improve and promote best hand hygiene practices during the delivery of health care services.

Infectious diseases in Pakistan are believed to be one of the most pressing medical problem and the major cause of morbidity and premature death (Infection Control Policies and Practice in Pakistan, M. W. Raza, F. K. Gould,B. M. Kazi) WHO Pakistan conducted an assessment of water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) services in health care facilities in 2015. It was observed that there is 70-80 per cent hand washing facilities available in the assessed health centres but a few hospitals including District Head Quarters and Tehsil Head Quarters had placed soap in hand washing areas of health care facilities.

WHO country office Pakistan plans to join hands with the Government and Partners to raise awareness about the benefits of hand hygiene. WHO calls on all health care facilities to join the “Save Lives: Clean Your Hands” movement and commit to improving hand hygiene practices. As of 28 April 2016, a total of to 44 hospitals and health-care facilities in Pakistan have been registered their commitment to hand hygiene as part of the global campaign.

 The theme of this year’s campaign is “surgical site infections, with particular focus on ensuring clean hands from the moment the patient enters the hospital, through surgical preparation and post-operative care, until the patient is discharged”. The campaign aims to reduce the spread of life-threatening infections through improving hand hygiene practices in health care settings. Hand hygiene is a primary and simple, low-cost measure which is proven to be effective in preventing health care-associated infections.

Every year, health care-associated infections affect hundreds of millions of patients worldwide, in both developed and developing countries. They can lead to serious illness, prolonged hospital stays, long-term disabilities, added costs to patients and their families, additional financial burden on the health care system and, critically, sometimes, tragic loss of life.

Patient voices can act as a powerful tool in achieving improvements in patient safety, and their participation is needed to improve and promote hand hygiene. WHO is encouraging patients to insist on their right to safe health care, of which hand hygiene is a basic component. Health care managers have a responsibility to facilitate hand hygiene through ensuring: availability of soap, running water and alcohol-based handrub, a standard sink/bed ratio, continuous training of staff, regular monitoring of hand hygiene practices and patient satisfaction.

WHO’s vision for the next decade is to encourage awareness and promote the need for improved compliance and sustainability in hand hygiene practices at the point of patient care through implementation of WHO’s 5 Moments for Hand Hygiene initiative: i) before patient contact: ii) before cleaning/aseptic procedure; iii) after body fluid exposure risk; (iv) after patient contact; and v) after contact with patient surroundings.

We can all work towards improving the safety of patients in health care settings through the implementation of essential measures, such as hand hygiene, not only to reduce the number of health care-associated infections but for the long-term benefit of patients and care providers and to ensure greater community satisfaction with health care services.