Acting Lead Nurse for Infection Prevention at Blackpool Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust Patricia Cross
The Infection Prevention and Control Team at Blackpool Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust are highlighted the importance of good hand hygiene to mark the global Hand Hygiene Day.
Acting Lead Nurse for Infection Prevention at the Trust, Patricia Cross, oversaw an awareness event to spread the word to staff and visitors on how hand hygiene helps contribute to a healthy hospital.
Key to this is the ‘Five Moments’ when healthcare workers should perform hand hygiene.
The Five Moments are:
- before touching a patient
- before clean/aseptic procedures
- after body fluid exposure/risk
- after touching a patient
- after touching patient surroundings.
Patricia said: “Infection prevention and control is a vital part of patient care.
“It’s not only for our staff; good hand hygiene is something our visitors can be involved in, too. It helps stop the spread of germs at home, at school, and in the workplace.
“Optimising hand hygiene is an important part of infection prevention and control.
“Remembering the Five Moments, and ensuring everyone cleans their hands well and at the right time, are the simplest ways of preventing the spread of infection.”