Hand hygiene moments are second nature to most of us, but our latest leaderboard shows that there’s one hand hygiene moment that our teams are missing more than most…
After touching a patient’s surroundings.
You might not be in direct contact with a patient at the time, but that doesn’t mean performing hand hygiene is any less important or free from risk in this moment.
If you’re touching a patient’s surrounding, don’t forget to perform hand hygiene after, to ensure you do not move microorganisms from the patient area to another.
Wipe before (and after) you type
For most of us, our Workstations on Wheels (WoWs) are now part of our everyday workflows, and have become the pivot point in providing and documenting quality care to our patients.
Before and after using our WoWs is also where we forget to perform hand hygiene, so make sure you:
- Perform hand hygiene before and after using the WoW
- Wipe down the keyboard and mouse before and after using your WoWs.
Clinical moments of hand hygiene
When thinking of hand hygiene in clinical settings, we should always come back to our key hand hygiene moments:
- Before touching a patient
- Before a procedure
- After a procedure or body fluid exposure
- After touching a patient
- After touching a patient’s surroundings
Acknowledging our auditors
Auditors at Monash Health regularly observe our clinicians, assessing compliance with the five moments of hand hygiene throughout the year.
Hand Hygiene auditors are there to help, not to criticise. They know all the great work that’s going on in your area, how hard everyone is working and that patient care comes first.
There are times when auditors will take the opportunity to politely remind you and/or provide some coaching around missed moments.
Remember to acknowledge and thank auditors who offer you hand hygiene feedback – this is an important part of keeping ourselves accountable and our patients safe.
Hand hygiene resources
For more information about hand hygiene, including posters and procedures, visit the employee COVID-19 website.
Approved by Professor Rhonda Stuart