Hand Hygiene Awareness Day 5 May 2018

It’s in your hands –prevent sepsis in health care

 

Proper hand hygiene is the key element to infection prevention and control in both the healthcare settings and in the community. Since 2005, Hong Kong has pledged support to the World Health Organization (WHO)’s first Global Patient Safety Challenge: Clean Care is Safer Care, and we have committed to promote good hand hygiene to control the spread of infectious diseases. Starting from 2010, Hand Hygiene Awareness Day has been marked annually on the May 5 in Hong Kong to promote the importance of hand hygiene in both healthcare settings and the community.

 

The Centre for Health Protection adopted “It’s in your hands- prevent sepsis in healthcare” as the slogan of 2018 hand hygiene promotion campaign, to echo with WHO’s call to healthcare workers “Take 5 moments to clean your hands to prevent sepsis in healthcare”.

Sepsis is caused by the patient’s dysregulated host response to infection. Without timely treatment, sepsis can rapidly cause tissue damage, organ failure, and even death. Healthcare associated infections are a risk factor for developing sepsis. Therefore, proper hand washing and maintaining good hand hygiene by healthcare workers play a key role in the prevention of sepsis.