By Taylor MacPherson

Hand washing rates improving at P.A. Health Region

Sep 21, 2017 | 12:00 PM

More staff at the local health region are complying with hand washing policies, according to the most recent data, but there is still more work to be done.

The numbers, presented at the Prince Albert Parkland Health Region’s Sept. 20 board meeting, show their hand hygiene compliance rate was 78.8 per cent in May, just shy of their 80 per cent goal. The data shows significant improvement, however, as the rate was 75.5 per cent last November and just 71.4 per cent in May of last year.

Pat Stuart, vice-president of clinical support services and quality performance, told paNOW hand washing is one of the simplest and most effective ways to halt the spread of infection in a medical setting, and said they are working hard to make sure it becomes a habit for all their clinical staff.

“We certainly do see lots of good work done by our managers to encourage their staff to wash their hands,” Stuart told paNOW. “At the end of the day we, of course, want 100 per cent hand hygiene compliance.”

Stuart said education is the best tool they have to raise the compliance rates, because some staff still make excuses for not washing up.

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“Sometimes people think that when they’re going to go into a patient room, if they’re not going to touch the patient, then they don’t need to wash their hands,” Stuart said. “The way students are taught now is before they go in any patient room they’re to wash their hands.”

Surprisingly, Stuart said physicians have some of the lowest rates when it comes to hand washing, both in the local health region and nationally. Physicians in the Prince Albert Parkland Health Region have a hand washing rate of roughly 40 per cent, she said.

“Our infection control practitioner is working closely with our senior medical officers and our physicians to improve that rate,” Stuart said.

The health region’s next hand hygiene audit is scheduled for November, and Stuart said she’s hoping to see the compliance rate climb even further. Once their staff have achieved 80 per cent compliance, she said, their target will be gradually raised until it reaches 100 per cent.

Taylor.macpherson@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @TMacPhersonNews