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Hand Hygiene

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Contents:

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Summary: This page focuses on how we can maintain good hand hygiene in the practice.

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Who’s it for: All staff

When Should We Wash Our Hands?

There are five key moments when we should perform hand hygiene in the practice:

For additional protection, you should also wash your hands:

After removing 😷Personal Protective Equipment (PPE).
During daily activities (e.g. just before starting and leaving work, before contact with food, after using the toilet).
Before and after handling medicines and patient samples.
After cleaning.
Before and after leaving an isolation rooms (see 🤒Isolation of Infectious Disease).

We use both routine and surgical hand washing methods in the practice:

For routine hand washing, use soap and water or alcohol-based hand rub → this method should be used before and after any social contact and most clinical care activities.
For surgical hand washing, use antiseptic soap (e.g. HiBiSCRUB) → this method should be used during invasive procedures (e.g. minor surgeries such as incisions, injections into joints).

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Antimicrobial-impregnated wipes should only be used for hand hygiene as a last resort.

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Please make sure that a poster similar to the one below is displayed next to all sinks that are used for hand washing.

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Note:

Alcohol-based hand rubs can be used as an alternative to soap and water for routine hand washing.
Do not use alcohol hand rub if hands are dirty or visibly soiled, or if you are dealing with a patient with C. difficile or another diarrhoeal illness (e.g. Norovirus).
Only a small amount of hand rub is needed (around 3ml).
After using a hand rub, make sure that your hands are fully dry before carrying out any patient procedures.

When providing patient care, follow the ‘bare below the elbows’ dress code → your hands and arms up to the elbow should be free from any clothing and jewellery.
Cover any cuts or lesions with a waterproof dressing.
Try to keep your nails short and clean, and avoid wearing nail varnish or artificial nails.
Use an emollient hand cream regularly.
If you experience any kind of skin problem or irritation, speak to your Line Manager who can refer you to 🏥Occupational Health.

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Resources: