Pennine Acute Trust Hand Hygiene Week

Infection control nurse Mark Ronan displays the new posters at The Royal Oldham Hospital

The Pennine Acute Hospitals NHS Trust is unveiling a new hand-washing poster campaign across its hospitals this week to remind patients, visitors and staff to wash their hands and use the alcohol gel when entering hospital wards, clinical areas and waiting areas.

The new posters are being launched to coincide with the Trust’s Hand Hygiene Week which runs from 15 – 21 April.

Staff are constantly being reminded of the importance of following hygiene controls, but the infection control teams at the Trust also want patients and visitors to get involved and play their part to prevent the spread of bugs and biological contamination, and reduce healthcare associated infections.

Effective hand washing to prevent the spread of infection should be as easy as stop and go. Stop at the hand washing stations on each hospital ward, wash your hands and then go, to continue either your visit to a patient or in the case of Pennine Acute Hospitals NHS staff, their work.

The red on the traffic light system signifies stop, orange wash your hands, and green for go.

There will be special hand washing stations set up throughout the Trust during the week where infection control teams will be demonstrating the effectiveness of efficient hand washing with the use of a glow box. Visitors will be encouraged to wash their hands using the special alcohol hand gel and then put their hands into a glow box to check on the areas that they have missed with the gel.

Roz Kaufman, senior nurse infection prevention and control at The Pennine Acute Trust, said: “Since before the time of Florence Nightingale cleaning your hands properly has been an absolute cornerstone of good infection control. This applies to both staff and to visitors. If we are to cut the risks of infection then we need the help from everyone.

"We all carry a range of bugs on our skin, quite normally and safely, but bugs are bullies and will pick on people who are weaker, or who have seen their immune systems compromised. So when people visit their friends and relatives in hospital, the last thing they will want to do is to pass on any germs. Hand washing and also using the alcohol hand gel cuts the chances of that happening.”