Infection
Hand Hygiene Practices Can Bring Down Infections | Lucknow News
Nov
Lucknow: Up to 60-70% of hospital-acquired infections (HAIs) can be prevented by simply following proper hand hygiene practices, according to experts speaking at the 46th annual conference of the Indian Association of Medical Microbiologists (MICROCON-2023).
“Because of negligent behaviour of hospital staff and attendants, hand hygiene protocols are not being followed as strictly as they should be,” said Prof Purwa Mathur of AIIMS New Delhi.
She emphasized that hospital staff, including nurses, attendants, and doctors, must make it a habit to use alcohol-based hand sanitizers before and after touching patients. “It is the duty of the hospital’s infection prevention and control (IPC) committee and infection control nurses to ensure that hand hygiene is followed,” said Prof Mathur. “By doing so, we can prevent 60-70% of HAIs.”
Prof Manisha Biswal from PGIMER Chandigarh added that strict enforcement of IPC protocols and even punishment for disobedience, as is common in Western countries, could help to improve hand hygiene compliance.
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