Why handwashing is important for nursing

Tagged with: Coronavirus zone: infection prevention and control Newly qualified nurses: practical procedures. Sign in or Register a new account to join the discussion. You are here: Infection control. Infection control 6: hand hygiene using soap and water.

Abstract Hand hygiene is one of the most effective methods of preventing healthcare-associated infections. This article has been double-blind peer reviewed This article is open access and can be freely distributed Scroll down to read the article or download a print-friendly PDF here if the PDF fails to fully download please try again using a different browser Click here to see other articles in this series This article is funded by an unrestricted educational grant from Medipal.

Box 1. Ensure all parts of the hand are covered Check your skin for early signs of skin problems and report concerns to occupational health Source: Health and Safety Executive. Also in this series Infection control 1: decontamination of non-invasive shared equipment Infection control 2: hand hygiene using alcohol-based hand rub Infection control 3: use of disposable gloves and aprons Infection control 4: good hand-hygiene practice for hospital patients Infection control 5: equipment for facial and respiratory protection.

Hand Hygiene: Skin Care. Journal of Hospital Infection ; 86, S1, Related files. Either: By washing with soap and warm water, or By using alcohol rub or gel. Dispensers can be found at the entrances to all wards, departments and at the bedside. When should you clean your hands? Patients should clean their hands: before a meal, when arriving and leaving the hospital and ward, after using the toilet, and before touching food Staff should clean their hands: each time they have direct contact with a patient, before serving food, after helping patients to use the toilet or commode, and after using the bathroom themselves Q.

Placing dispensers immediately next to each bed is a solution to the problem or using the visual display of large posters emphasizing the importance of hand washing reminds staff to wash their hands [7 , 8]. The author declare that there is no competing interests regarding the publication of this article. Gr ap hy. Create an account to get started today. Registered Users Have an account? Sign in now. ISSN: Corresponding Author Details: Dr. Int J Nurs Clin Pract 4: We continually use signs and education to remind staff of the importance of hand hygiene.

All staff are encouraged to speak up if they see someone who has forgotten to wash their hands. Every Johns Hopkins Medicine hospital also has employee recognition programs for staff members and units excelling at consistently practicing good hand hygiene. Many of our facilities also have programs in place for direct feedback and coaching for staff members who were observed forgetting to perform hand hygiene.

I care for patients with compromised immune systems who are getting chemotherapy or having surgery. It is my job, and the job of the other nurses, to keep our patients safe, free from harm and free from infection.

Our team knows that clean hands save lives. In the center of our unit, we have a pledge board for hand hygiene, where we all have added our names. Everyone signs it as a promise to keep safe all the patients we touch. We all share the same goal: to look out for the safety of our patients. We actively remind one another to perform proper hand hygiene with proper hand-washing or hand-rub techniques while caring for patients.