World Hand Hygiene Day

What is World Hand Hygiene Day?

World Hand Hygiene Day is celebrated on the 5th May every year and aims to encourage and promote the practice of good hand hygiene, particularly in health care settings. The World Health Organisation (WHO) highlight the day as a reminder to all to always maintain a high standard of hand hygiene.

Why is hand hygiene so important?

Not only do clean hands prevent infection and illness, they also save lives! Every year millions of lives around the world are saved when hand hygiene is performed at the right time during care, or food handling. Correct hand hygiene can reduce risk, stop the spread of germs and prevent infections resulting in less illness.

Who is hand hygiene most important for?

Everyone!

People of all ages should be vigilant when it comes to hand washing however there are a number of jobs where hand hygiene is particularly important including healthcare professionals, and anyone handling food. Dominant customers include numerous workers in these fields including hospitals, aged care , health care, hospitality , restaurants, food and beverage manufacturers , education and child care .

How can we encourage better and more frequent hand hygiene?

It is best practice to make hand hygiene as accessible as possible for people, making sure the correct products are available at all times, in all situations where hand hygiene needs to be followed.  This includes having hand washing and hand sanitising products in all bathrooms, washrooms, communal spaces, entrance, exits, transaction counters, shared desks, food preparation areas and more. You can also include dedicated hand hygiene stations and permanent dispensers . This will ensure you are reducing the risk of germs spreading throughout your facility.

Clear signage to assist, and education around correct hand hygiene (such as how-to posters ) also help to bring awareness and educate more people.

What can I do in my business or workplace to help?

Having adequate amounts of hand hygiene products will help to provide protection and respect for others, if they are entering your business, dealing with your staff and clients, or receiving care. Make sure you are always stocked up and won’t run out of these important products.

Hand hygiene has come into great focus during the pandemic in the last few years. We must continually remind ourselves of the importance of proper hand-washing and sanitising techniques. Good hand-hygiene should be observed everyday, not just today!