Public Reporting on Hand Hygiene Compliance
Ontario hospitals are posting their hand hygiene compliance rates as percentages for time periods identified by the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care, using the following formula:
# of times hand hygiene performed X 100
# of observed hand hygiene indications
Click
here to view a chart of our rates.
These percentages also reflect:
- hand hygiene before initial patient/patient environment contact by combined health care provider type (e.g., nurses, allied health professionals, physicians, etc.)
- hand hygiene after patient/patient environment contact by combined health care provider type (e.g., nurses, allied health professionals, physicians, etc.)
Hospitals are to collect at least 200 observations for every 100 in-patient beds.
To ensure statistically valid data for smaller hospitals, or hospitals with fewer in-patient beds a minimum of 50 observed opportunities for hand hygiene will need to be collected.
The goal of public reporting hand hygiene compliance is to achieve an overall assessment of whether compliance rates are improving. It is normal for rates to vary from hospital to hospital.
Information for Patients and Families
Patient safety remains the most important priority for the Hawkesbury & District General Hospital and this involves ensuring that patients are not at risk for contracting healthcare-associated infections.
We have a number of practices in place to help prevent and control infections, including a comprehensive hand hygiene program. As of April 30, 2009, all Ontario hospitals are required to annually post their hand hygiene compliance rates to further promote accountability and transparency within the health system.
If you have any questions about the information below or about our hospital's infection prevention and control program, please contact nurse Marc Larivière, ext 396.
What are health care-associated infections?
Sometimes when patients are admitted to the hospital, they can get infections. These are called health care-associated infections.
How will the public reporting of hand hygiene compliance affect compliance among health care professionals?
There are many factors that will improve hand hygiene compliance. Mandatory public reporting is one element. Certainly the increasing recent attention on the issue as well as the provincial government's multifaceted hand hygiene program called Just Clean Your Hands are important to ensuring effective hand hygiene at the right times.
Why is hand hygiene so important?
Hand hygiene is an important practice for health care providers and has a significant impact on reducing the spread of infections in hospitals. Hand hygiene is a different way of thinking about safety and patient care and involves everyone in the hospital, including patients and health care providers.
Effective hand hygiene practices in hospitals play a key role in improving patient and provider safety, and in preventing the spread of health care-associated infections.
What is the Hawkesbury & District General Hospital doing to improve patient safety?
- Alcohol dispensers installed throughout the hospital, especially at the points of care on all the nursing units;
- Automatic sinks (without faucets) installed in all the care sectors;
- Hands-free paper dispensers available in the washrooms;
- Cream provided on all the nursing units to take care of the hands of the health care workers;
- Monitoring compliance of hospital personnel to hand washing;
- Member of the " Lavez-vous les mains " / " Just Clean your Hands " program of the Ministry of Health;
- 45-minute educational sessions on the " Lavez-vous les mains " / " Just Clean your Hands " program to provide mandatory training to the doctors, employees and volunteers who have access to patient rooms.
What can patients do to help improve their own safety?
Hand hygiene involves everyone in the hospital, including patients. Hand cleaning is one of the best ways you and your health care team can prevent the spread of many infections. Patients and their visitors should also practice good hand hygiene before and after entering patient rooms.
More patient-specific information is available at
www.ontario.ca/patientsafety and
www.oha.com/patientsafetytips..