World Hand Hygiene Day 2010

On 5 May 2010, the World Health Organization (WHO) in their SAVE LIVES: Clean Your Hands annual initiative activities, are again issuing a global call to action inviting health-care workers, facilities and organisations throughout the world to actively campaign for improved hand hygiene at the point of care to reduce health care-associated infections and to demonstrate their commitment to this priority global movement. To date 6884 hospitals in 132 countries and territories have already registered! Register now and be part of a global movement to improve hand hygiene! Please follow the link below:

http://www.who.int/gpsc/5may/en/ 

Moment 1 Global Survey

The WHO SAVE LIVES: Clean Your Hands initiative also invites health-care facilities to participate in a global survey on or around 5 May 2010 by observing hand hygiene compliance with Moment 1 (before touching a patient) and submitting data to WHO. For further information please follow the link below:

http://www.who.int/gpsc/5may/en/ 

Pictures from the 5th Of May 2009

And finally,  a reminder why handhygiene in healthcare is so important!

• At any one time over 1.4 million people worldwide are affected by healthcare associated infections (HAI)
• The risk in developing countries is 2-20 times higher than in developed countries.
• Globally, there are about 59 million healthcare workers = 100 million hands treating and touching patients, up to 15 times a day.
• These hands can be the mediators of harmful microbes; each touch putting patients lives at risk.