Children from the hospital’s Sunshine Day Nursery scrubbed-up to spread the word – not the germs – when it comes to washing your hands properly.
The children took part in a film made by East Surrey Hospital to show staff and visitors it’s as easy as 1-2-3 to wash your hands properly to prevent the spread of infection.
The film will premiere at the hospital as part of the Trust’s campaign to support Global Hand Hygiene Day this Friday 10 May.
Organised by the World Health Organisation, Global Hand Hygiene Day brings together nine million health care workers across 164 countries to promote the importance and awareness of hand hygiene among all staff, patients and public in the control and reduction of infections.
Surrey and Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust, which runs East Surrey Hospital has made the film to show it’s as easy as child play to get it right, and if children under five can do it, then so can the grown-ups.
In the film, the children ask the audience if they have washed their hands properly, this is thought to be the best ways of making people question their own behaviours.
The Trust’s Infection Control and Prevention expert, Ashley Flores said: “The single most effective method of preventing the spread of infection is good hand hygiene. Using alcohol gel is okay in some instances but if your hands are visibly soiled or you are in contact with someone with norovirus, you should wash your hands with soap and warm water. To wash your hands properly it should take about 15 seconds – that’s about how long it takes to sing Happy Birthday twice through. ”
Dr Karen Knox, Lead Infection Control Doctor, said: “As many readers will know, norovirus has been prevalent in the community this year and continues to affect some of our wards. That said, I think it’s worth noting that excellent hand hygiene and continued diligence of staff has helped control the spread of the infection.
“To help celebrate this, the Patient Safety Champions, who are volunteers from our local community, are visiting the wards at East Surrey Hospital on Friday to find the cleanest hands. The volunteers will present a prize to the member of staff who demonstrates the best hand washing technique on the day.”
