Why don’t we wash our hands?
A Summary by Chris Nickson:
Hand hygiene is widely regarded as the bedrock for the prevention of healthcare associated infections (HAIs). HAIs are among the biggest killers in modern medicine. Yet, hand hygiene compliance among healthcare workers remains woefully poor.
Why can’t we learn the lessons that Semmelweis taught us nearly 150 years ago? If we can’t teach intelligent healthcare workers to wash their hands properly, what hope do we have as medical educators? This is both a patient safety and a medical education priority. Our patients’ lives are at risk and they deserve better.
So, how can we change our patient’s microbiological cultures? By changing our culture.
The power, it seems, is in our hands.
Learn more here:
- LITFL CCC — Hand hygiene
- Hand Hygiene Australia
- World Health Organisation. WHO Guidelines on Hand Hygiene in Health Care. In: World Alliance for Patient Safety, editor. First Global Patient Safety Challenge Clean Care is Safer Care. 1 ed. Geneva: World Health Organisation Press; 2009. [Website with access to free full text]