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World Health Organisation annual hand hygiene campaign day

World Health Organisation annual hand hygiene campaign day

It takes just 5 moments to change the world is the strap line being used by the World Health Organisation (WHO) this year.  With the report published by WHO this week on the global antibiotic resistance threat, MRSA Action UK believe there should be an International Convention for the Protection of Antibiotics – with infection prevention playing a pivotal role, and its key component – hand hygiene.

WHO Guidelines on Hand Hygiene in Health Care defines the 5 key moments for hand hygiene, overcoming misleading language and complicated descriptions. It presents a unified vision and promotes a strong sense of ownership for healthcare practitioners.

The 5 moments for hand hygiene align with the evidence base concerning the spread of healthcare associated infections, and is interwoven with the natural workflow of care, and is designed to be easy to learn, logical and adaptable to a wide range of settings.

For 5 May 2014, WHO is highlighting the role of hand hygiene in combating antimicrobial resistance.

No action today; no cure tomorrow – we need to make sure the WHO 5 moments for hand hygiene are part of protecting patients from resistant germs.

A paradigm shift has occurred in our world that cannot be reversed – multidrug resistant pathogens are here to stay. The message from WHO (and MRSA Action UK) is “make sure you manage multidrug resistant pathogens through infection prevention action”

The WHO call to action in support of 5 May 2014 includes global surveys on the use of antibiotics and the numbers of resistant pathogens.

Get your healthcare provider to sign up and join-up and download the information and educational materials at the WHO website http://www.who.int/gpsc/5may/EN_PSP_GPSC1_5May_2014/en/