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Chief Medical Officer launches the third year of the cleanyourhands campaign

  • Last modified date:
    15 November 2007

On 18 October 2007, Sir Liam Donaldson launched the third year of the cleanyourhands campaign at St Bartholomew’s Hospital, London, and sent a clear message to everyone about the importance of hand hygiene.

In his call to action, Sir Liam said:

“It's absolutely vital that hand hygiene is seen as a priority by every single healthcare professional - from surgeon to nursing assistant. We can't succeed in the fight against healthcare-associated infections unless we address the problem by working together as a team that encompasses the entire healthcare journey, with no weak links…
“The patient, too, has a part to play in this journey. In my Annual Report, I recommended that the cleanyourhands campaign should be further strengthened to support patient involvement, with alcohol handrub given to patients so that they can ensure that healthcare professionals clean their hands before touching them. This scheme is currently in the early pilot stages - if successful, it will offer an additional mechanism to combat infection and support safer care in the future.”

The four year campaign was first launched in September 2004 by the National Patient Safety Agency (NPSA) and has since been adopted by all NHS acute trusts in England and Wales.

The campaign has already been adopted by all acute NHS trusts in Wales and England and is also being rolled out to other NHS organisations in England and Wales such as ambulance trusts, primary care, mental health and care trusts, and care homes and hospices. Work is also underway to test the campaign in general practice.

Martin Fletcher, chief executive of the NPSA, said at the launch:

"Good hand hygiene is absolutely critical in the prevention of infection. We already know that cleanyourhands has made enormous headway in changing behaviour amongst healthcare workers, and we have worked with staff on how to build on that success with the launch of the campaign's third year”.

Following consultation with frontline staff the cleanyourhands campaign has adopted a radical and bold approach, and harder-hitting campaign materials that emphasise the seriousness of healthcare associated infection.

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