Hospital-acquired infection: UCH, WHO stress importance of hand washing

The University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan, in conjunction with the World Health Organization, has emphasized the importance of hand washing to prevent over 50 percent of infections individuals tend to acquire in the course of accessing health care in Nigeria.

Professor Jesse Otegbayo, who demonstrated how hand washing should be done at the hospital’s 2023 World Hand Hygiene Day symposium, said hand washing by health workers saves lives as it can protect them and their patients from contracting infections that can spread between patients and health care giver.

Otegbayo, who was represented by the hospitals’ Director of Clinical Services, Dr Abiodun Adeoye, stated “regular hand washing will protect from cross infections; protect us as healthcare givers and our patients. It cannot be overemphasized. By doing so, you can save lives. That is why we must all accelerate this action together to ensure that we can have the effect that we desire.”

Acting chairman, Infection Control Committee and head of department of the Medical Microbiology and Parasitology at the UCH, Ibadan, Dr Adeola Fowotade, said hand washing had become far more important with the emergence of different infectious diseases across the world.

“There is no way we can save lives without first knowing the implications of not washing our hands on our own health. We must ensure that we observe all the five moments of hand hygiene to ensure that we keep our patients safe from health care-acquired infections and ourselves from occupational acquired infectious disease,” she said.

Dr Olufunmilola Makanjuola, an infection control consultant, in an overview of the 2023 World Hand Hygiene Day, quoted the Nigerian Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) saying that only about 25 percent of health care workers comply with hand washing in Nigeria.

According to her, good infection prevention and control (IPC) measures, including regular hand hygiene at point of care, and other cost-effective practices can reduce hospital-acquired infections by 35 to 70 percent.

She, therefore, suggested that policy makers invest in ensuring hand hygiene in health facilities as well as make IPC training compulsory for healthcare workers so that they all know how to do it and to imbibe the culture.

Earlier, the World Health Organization representative, Dr Philip Zorto, said thousands of people die daily across the world due to infectious hazards acquired while receiving healthcare, and decried the disappearance of facilities for hand washing and hand santisers in public spaces after COVID-19 had disappeared.

According to Dr Zorto, facilities for hand washing should be restored to promote hand hygiene and reduce the transmission of infectious agents in the country.