| Hospitals across Lincolnshire are raising awareness of the importance of fighting infection through hand hygiene during October. The winter months often bring with them a risk of infections such as flu and norovirus. The infection prevention and control teams at United Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS Trust (ULHT) are educating members of the public and staff about why hand hygiene is important in the fight against healthcare associated infections. Displays have been set up in public areas and the infection prevention and control teams are touring the wards and corridors to help spread the message across the county. Wendy Creasey, Nurse Specialist in Infection Prevention and Control at ULHT said: “Good hand hygiene stops the spread of infections and helps to save lives. Our organisation always takes healthcare associated infection seriously and has been successful in making an impact on rates of infections. “One of the most effective methods of preventing cross infection is the practice of good hand hygiene, not only in the hospital environment but also in the community. “It is hoped that this initiative, together with other projects such as staff training, careful use of antibiotics and environmental cleanliness, will assist in fighting infection across the Trust. “The Trust works closely with our colleagues in public health and the community to ensure patients admitted with infections do not pass these onto others whilst they receive the best quality care from ULHT staff.” |
Perhaps if people spent more time on personal hygiene than they spend trying to be famous or wannabes, or getting their faces on Instagram and actually thought about the importance of such matters there would be no need to try to educate people in the basics of cleanliness. Having said that no matter how often you tell people about such issues it just does not sink in.
Washing hands correctly is a very basic skill I was taught at a very young age and reinforced throughout my life.