Hospitals adopt zero tolerance over staff hygiene

Published on Monday 26 January 2009 21:06

A ZERO-tolerance policy for NHS staff who fail to wash their hands was yesterday announced by the Scottish Government.

And the public will be able to check superbug infection rates and levels of hand cleanliness for each hospital under the new measures.

The latest moves in the battle against hospital infections were announced by health secretary Nicola Sturgeon.

A "one-stop shop" is to be set up to give public access to all published information on infection rates and hand hygiene compliance. This will be available on a website by the end of the month.

The zero-tolerance approach has been set out by the chief nursing officer, Paul Martin, in a letter to all health board chief executives.

Figures earlier this month showed varying levels of compliance for hand hygiene. The target level in Scotland is at least 90 per cent. Overall, this target is being exceeded, at 93 per cent.

But within this total, compliance levels vary from 95 per cent for nurses to 84 per cent for other medical staff.

Ms Sturgeon said: "Hand hygiene is a simple, but essential, part of our drive to tackle infections in hospitals, for everyone from consultants to clerical staff.

"That's why we are now adopting a zero-tolerance approach to non-compliance by NHS staff to ensure we build on the great progress that has already been made."

The initiative includes an eight-week advertising campaign, while an awareness drive aimed at health workers, patients and visitors will be launched in the spring.

Ms Sturgeon said: "All NHS staff have a duty to ensure the safest possible environment for patients."