Maintain pressure on reforms to protect NHS'Save Lives: Clean your hands' - Managing an IPC initiative
Nursing Times award winners on managing sucessful infection control initiative “Save Lives: Clean your hands”
Promotion of national and international Infection Prevention and Control initiatives are high on our team’s list of priorities.
We constantly raise the profile of infection control within the trust and initiatives like WHO Save Lives: Clean your hands gives us a great platform for this.
So what did we do this time?
We linked with the company that supply the trust’s alcohol hand rub and set up a stand for both staff and visitors to the hospital.
The stand had lots of information and facts relating to hand hygiene, we had ‘glo-germ’ and mobile sinks to encourage staff and visitors to look at their own hand hygiene practice.
Giving away pocket sized gel and pens, plus a few umbrellas thrown in, to any staff visiting the stand always increases the numbers attending, NHS staff love to get freebies!
Events like this reassure public/relatives and staff that we take hand hygiene seriously and promote good practice within the trust.
It also highlights to the public that all staff within the trust get Infection Prevention and Control training.
We included an audit during the day of hand hygiene facilities within the trust to measure the perception of IPC teams input.
Our slogan for the day mirrored that of WHO which was ‘Clean hands save lives’ The whole team wore T-shirts which were colourful and made us stand out from wearing our usual uniform.
The spirit and motivation within the team was commented on and visitors to the stand stated that we were clearly visible, entertaining and cheerful.
The stall was striking and this proved effective in enticing people to visit it and participate in the hand hygiene practice.
It is valuable to have a good friendly rapport with ALL staff from various wards and departments around the trust, and maintain a great relationship with suppliers, manufacturers and those who support IPC initiatives behind the scenes.
Deborah Barry and the infection prevention and control nurses team at the Royal Free hospital
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