Blog, Care homes
‘SAVE LIVES: Clean Your Hands’ campaign adopted by UK home care company
May
Hand washing at the “point of care” is crucial says WHO
Home care providers in the Ealing and Croyden areas of the UK are the latest to demonstrate ongoing support for this year’s World Health Organisation’s (WHO) annual World Hand Hygiene Day, with this year’s theme being SAVE LIVES: Clean Your Hands.
The campaign is now a focus for Bluebird Care, according to a recent report on the In Your Area website.
The article quotes a director of Bluebird Care Croydon Dean Slade, who observed that WHO studies have demonstrated how effective soap and water washing is when it comes to removing germs.
“You can save lives simply by cleaning your hands.”
The SAVE LIVES – Clean Your Hands initiative has a central core – that “all health-care workers should clean their hands at the right time and in the right way.”
“The campaign aims to galvanise action at the point of care to demonstrate that hand hygiene is the entrance door for reducing health care-associated infection and patient safety.”
Soap and water – not sanitisers
Hand washing is of course vital during the current pandemic – but soap and water is the only sure-fire way of controlling other infectious illnesses such as norovirus on the grounds that gels are ineffective. And sanitisers could also “present problems for human health and the environment in the long term”.
A recent article on the Unesco website detailed “How 20 seconds of washing yours hands with soap will save lives, the chemistry explained”.
Ealing and Croydon home care company supports ‘SAVE LIVES: Clean Your Hands’ campaign »
Mobile hand washing units for care homes and home care »
The units can provide back-up support for existing hand washing facilities, can be used in rest areas for residents, or in reception hallways for visitors and staff.
They are easy to use and as they can be placed at point of need are ideal for residents, who may have restricted mobility, allowing them to have access to warm water in their own rooms.