Flicking through the morning news on my phone, amongst all the political doom, was a video – ‘Do you know the six steps to clean hands?’. There was also a reference to new NICE guidelines on the use of medicines used to treat infections (these medicines are called ‘antimicrobials’) and the dangers of overuse and misuse.
In the Health and Social Care Act Code of Practice on the prevention and control of infections and related guidance 2015, it states that adult social care providers (not domiciliary care) are expected to comply with Criterion 3 of the Code ‘Ensure appropriate antimicrobial use to optimise patient outcomes and to reduce the risk of adverse events and antimicrobial resistance’. Although this sounds like a lot of jargon, it means we need to make sure we use medicines to treat infections sensibly to make sure they continue to work properly. A simple measure all providers can use to help prevent and control infection is handwashing.
A study in 2012 revealed that more than 26% of hands sampled showed traces of faecal contamination including bacteria such as E. coli. Worryingly, out of the samples taken, 11 % of hands, 8 % of credit cards and 6 % of bank notes showed gross contamination – the levels of bacteria detected the same as a dirty toilet bowl.
The World Health Organisation advise washing your hands for as long as it takes to sing ‘Happy Birthday twice (you don’t have to do this out loud) and;
- Use lots of warm, running water and liquid soap to lather your hands and wrists. Avoid bar soap which can carry viruses and bacteria.
- Rinse hands well with your hands pointing down so the rinse water doesn’t run up your arms.
- Dry hands ideally on a disposable paper towel-germs can live for hours on hand towels.
- Turn off the tap using your elbows or a paper towel as a barrier so you don’t have to touch the tap.
Global Handwashing Day is celebrated on 15th October 2017 and is a day dedicated to increasing awareness about the importance of handwashing with soap as an effective way to prevent diseases. Given the number of people coughing and sneezing, and our heating systems ramped up to beat the winter weather, maybe 260 days is too long to wait to talk to staff about good handwashing techniques.
For more information on handwashing and infection control QCS Ltd members can access the recently updated Infection Control Policy and procedure.
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