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Clean hands save lives!
Proper hand hygiene plays a key role in patient safety and is the easiest and most effective way of preventing the spread of infections in health care facilities.
Every year, Canadian patients die or become seriously ill from infections acquired in hospitals.
It is estimated that at least 30 per cent of hospital acquired infections are preventable.
Although our hands may look clean, they can carry many germs that are invisible to the naked eye. By failing to clean our hands we can unknowingly spread bacteria and viruses to others and throughout the environment.
There are two effective hand cleaning methods:
- Cleaning with an alcohol-based hand rinse, or
- Washing with soap and water
Visitors can also help reduce the risk of infection to themselves or the patients they visit by cleaning their hands when they enter and exit the hospital, and also every time they enter and exit a patient's room.
Together we can help reduce the spread of infectious disease. Clean hands save lives.