About the Campaign
The Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety (DHSSPS) is for the first time linking into the National Patient Safety Agency’s (NPSA’s) cleanyourhands campaign, which has entered its third year in England and Wales.
The DHSSPS is impressed with the research-based work that the NPSA has carried out in relation to this campaign, and feels that this is the right time to link into this campaign, to complement the work that is currently going on in Health and Social Care (HSC) bodies.
The cleanyourhands campaign aims to improve the hand hygiene of healthcare workers in order to prevent the spread of infection and help HSC bodies tackle HCAIs. It is for implementation in all acute HSC bodies.
The key components of the campaign are as follows:
- Alcohol handrubs: These are the cornerstone of the campaign and enable healthcare workers to clean their hands at the right time, quickly and effectively. They are purchased locally.
- Prompts to remind healthcare workers to clean their hands: including posters that convey powerful messages about hand hygiene, and signs that direct people to hand-cleaning facilities. The campaign’s promotional materials are provided free of charge to those HSC organisations implementing the campaign.
- Involving patients in improving hand hygiene: Information on why hand hygiene is important is provided and other materials, such as posters and stickers, use the phrase ‘It’s OK to ask’. The intention is to ‘invite’, rather than ‘oblige’, patients to get involved.
- An implementation handbook with a range of supporting resources: providing guidance on implementation, plus templates, scripts and other supporting materials that local campaign co-ordinators can use to raise awareness, engage and educate healthcare workers at all levels. Supporting materials include ‘multipurpose panels’ and staff leaflets.
