Last week, Northern Health marked the Hand Hygiene Week, holding workshops and activities across all sites.

Hand hygiene is a crucial element of Standard 3 in the National Healthcare Standards which aims to improve infection prevention and control measures to help prevent infections and the spread of antimicrobial resistance.

Having in mind that healthcare-associated infections are the most common complication affecting patients in Australian hospitals, having regular safety and hygiene trainings helps us prevent complications while ensuring our staff receives the best possible education and practice.

Numerous events were held for our staff and visitors, including a Stethoscope raffle, Gold Standard Auditor Workshop hosted at NCHER, Pink “Avagard” T Shirts, display boards and educational workshops.

Our clinical staff handed out brochures to in-patients at Northern Hospital and answered questions about prevention and hygiene, while nurse educators assisted with hand hygiene promotion at Northern Health – Bundoora and Broadmeadows Hospital.