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May 5 marks World Hand Hygiene Day – aimed at promoting good practice among health care workers across the globe and empowering them to enhance their knowledge, skills and behaviours.

And when it comes to implementing and sharing good practice closer to home, we have to hand it you the Trust’s own Infection Prevention and Control Team – they have all the know-how at their very fingertips!

Helping to spread the WHHD message, the Team will be spending the run up to the event on Sunday May 5 informing colleagues and visitors on ways in which they can keep their hands clean; explaining the correct ways of handwashing (with soap and water preferred over hand sanitising gel) and sharing some interesting facts about the spread of bacteria.

Infection Prevention and Control Nurse, Michelle Newberry, has also shared details of a clever piece of kit that can help with hand washing techniques.

She said: “The Semmelweis machine uses a UV glow, it does not monitor how dirty your hands are but measures your technique, so you rub the UV gel in using the same technique as washing your hands  and insert into the machine, this will then highlight the areas you have missed and give you a score out of 100 and useful tips to improve your technique.”

And staff had the chance to see the for themselves how the machine worked during some recent demos at Peterborough and Hinchingbrooke.

Wash Hands – Save Lives 

The Trust promotes Hand Hygiene by following the ‘five moments of hand hygiene’ which come from the World Health Organisation:

1. Before touching a patient.
2. Before a clean or aseptic procedure.
3. After exposure to body fluids.
4. After touching a patient.
5. After touching patients’ surroundings.

Did you know:

• Bacteria can stay alive on hands for up to three hours.
• A study showed that 21 per cent of the healthcare workers in the ICU had varying counts of Staphylococcus aureus (bacteria) on their hands.
• The average kitchen chopping board has around 200 per cent more faecal bacteria on it than a toilet seat does!
• Disposable paper towels are the most sanitary means of drying hands.
• We carry a few thousand bacteria from around 150 different species on our hands.
• Re-usable cloth towels harbour millions of bacteria.
• The bacteria count is higher on the dominant hand.
• Most bacteria on our hands is on the finger tips and under the nails.
• TV remote controls are a leading carrier of bacteria.
• Coughs travel at 60mph and a sneeze travels 100mph.