Clean hands take centre stage

Netcare Milpark Hospital in Parktown West hosted a hand hygiene awareness campaign to celebrate World Hand Hygiene Day on 5 May.

Three members of the Infection Prevention Control Unit, located at the hospital, organised a display stand at the entrance of the hospital to encourage more visitors to be more diligent about washing their hands.

Shakiera Sallie, who is a member of the unit told Rosebank Killarney Gazette that the campaign was started by the World Health Organisation to highlight the importance of proper hand hygiene in the prevention of spreading illness.

Sallie said, “Superbugs’, which are resistant to antibiotics, are becoming more and more common. However, she said that hand hygiene plays a big role in preventing the spread of ‘superbugs’.

She also added that many people are not aware of how important it is to clean your hands properly in order to prevent infection.

Angeliki Messina, the project manager for Netcare’s antibiotic stewardship, said that Netcare had developed a hand hygiene app to promote compliance with proper hand hygiene. “The difficulty with hand hygiene that everyone struggles with around the world is a change of human behaviour so with these campaigns and the foundations we have at each of our hospitals to really ensure the structures are in place,” said Messina.

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The campaign highlighted ‘Five Moments for Hand Hygiene’ which aims to ensure that every healthcare worker washes their hands before and after touching a patient, before clean or antiseptic procedures, after touching a patients’ surroundings and after any body fluid exposure.

Messina also added that they aim to extend the hand hygiene campaign outside of the hospital by promoting proper hand hygiene in primary schools.

Do you practice proper hand hygiene every day? Tell us how you keep your five digits sparkly clean on Whatsapp 079 435 5345.