This First Global Patient Safety Challenge, Clean Care is Safer Care was launched in October 2005. Since then it has existed to support the reduction of health care-associated infections and their consequences. Much has been achieved around the world, supported by a behavioural change campaigning for improved hand hygiene in health care.
Re-energising the world!
2005-2015 Clean Care is Safer Care
For 10 years member states and autonomous regions around the world have pledged their commitment to clean care. Now some of them are reminding the world just how important it still is to work towards clean hands at the point of patient care every day.
Here are some examples:
Professor Chris Baggoley AO, Chief Medical Officer, Department of Health, Australia:
“Australia is totally committed to good hand hygiene as a simple but crucial intervention to keep our patients safe. Over the last five years, Australia has implemented a successful national campaign based on the WHO strategy, with open public reporting of each hospital’s hand hygiene performance. Participation in the Hand Hygiene Australia program is now a mandatory requirement for public and private hospital accreditation in Australia. Embedding and sustaining this important patient safety culture change is a key focus of health care policy.”
Shona Robison, Cabinet Secretary for Health, Wellbeing and Sport, Scotland, UK:
“The Scottish Government fully supports World Hand Hygiene Day on 5th May, to raise awareness around hand-washing best practice.
Reducing healthcare associated infections within our hospitals and the wider community remains a top priority for the Scottish Government.
Infection control is something that everyone needs to take an interest in, including good hand hygiene practice. This is particularly important for NHS staff, patients, hospital visitors and the general public. It is one of the most important and effective things we can all do to help reduce the spread of infections and protect ourselves, our families and those around us.”
Mg. Lic. Norma Peralta, Directora, Programa Nacional de Epidemiología y Control de Infecciones Hospitalarias de Argentina:
The National Program of Epidemiology and Hospital Acquired Infections in Argentina, as part of the National Campaign for Hand Hygiene Improvement of the Argentina Association of Nurse in Infection Control leads in Argentina, supports the initiative and adheres to promote hand hygiene as a high standard of quality and safety in patient care . This measure is simple and effective in reducing infections and save hundreds of lives a year.
From Argentina, the National Program of Epidemiology and Control of Hospital Infections in Argentina, renewed, after its first 10 years, their commitment to continue working for the safety of patients and quality of care.”
Dr CHAN Hon-yee Constance, Director of Health, Hong Kong, China:
“Promoting hand hygiene in both healthcare settings and in the community has been accorded a top priority in Hong Kong ever since Hong Kong pledged to support the WHO First Global Patient Safety Challenge in 2005. In the past 10 years, Hong Kong has adopted the WHO Hand Hygiene Strategy in implementing hand hygiene programmes in hospitals, clinics and long-term care facilities. Since 2010, the 5th of May has been marked as an important annual event – Hand Hygiene Awareness Day in Hong Kong. In collaboration with healthcare institutions and community organizations, promotional activities are carried out to encourage proper hand hygiene in healthcare workers, patients, visitors and the general public.
Patient safety is always our first concern. Hong Kong is fully committed to promoting hand hygiene as one of the most effective yet simple means for infection control.”
Department of Health, Republic of South Africa (via Twitter):
“Hand hygiene exists as an important topic to prevent hospital acquired infection Join the campaign! WHO SAVE LIVES: Clean Your Hands Campaign promotes hand hygiene action at the point of patient care. Infection prevention is at the heart of strengthening health care systems #safeHANDS.”
Dr Elisabeth Heisbourg, Directeur Adjoint f.f. de Directeur de la Santé, Luxembourg:
“As chief medical officer (ff) at the ministry of health I continue to underline the utmost importance of hand hygiene in the healthcare sector. We have seen some sort of success story concerning this – WHO and its stakeholders have strengthened the importance of it, and did and still do a VERY good job in promoting it. Many countries, hospitals and healthcare professionals have picked up this guidance and made this movement theirs.
In Luxembourg, all the hospitals collaborate greatly, the healthcare professionals adhere and ameliorate compliance from campaign to campaign. The Ministry in charge of homecare, nursing homes and homes for handicapped people has participated, and continues to, since the second campaign, provided with adapted messages and tools.
We are confident this positive movement will go on and will show further improvement. We are doing our best for this , with our partners.”
Spanish Ministry of Health, Social Services and Equality, Yolanda Agra (senior adviser):
“To control the healthcare associated infections (HCAI) in the Spanish National Health System is one of the main priorities of the national patient safety strategy. This strategy, now updated with the agreement of the main Spanish stakeholders, provides specific recommendations to control HCAI in hospitals and ambulatory care including hand hygiene as a key practice to prevent and control those infections.
A Hand hygiene national program has been developed in the last seven years in agreement with the health regions, which every May 5th develop different activities with professionals and patients to remain the most simple, inexpensive and effective way to reduce the spread of HCAI.
The multimodal approach to improve Hand hygiene is included in the accreditation of the teaching hospitals and it will be also included in the evaluation of the reference centers. Hand Hygiene is also one of the safe clinical practices implemented in several healthcare organizations in Spain, in the framework of the European Union Network for Patient safety and Quality of Care.”
More information available here: http://www.who.int/gpsc/en/
Source: http://www.who.int/gpsc/5may/quotes/en/; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ssQ5xZ7ZFg