Need for more hand washing in hospitals
More than 7,000 patients die and billions of dollars worth of health care is wasted every year in Australia because doctors and nurses do not wash their hands enough according to evidence and background documents given at public hearings of the Queensland Parliamentary select committee on health.
Health Quality and Complaints Commission chief, John Youngman, said in evidence that half of all healthcare providers did not have appropriate hand hygiene processes in place.
It is estimated there are as many as 150,000 healthcare-associated infections in Australia a year.
Surgery was a high-risk area in Queensland hospitals because of poor hand hygiene, he said.
He said research confirmed that “over half the adverse events that occurred were related to the operating theatre”.
Dr Youngman said the new health commission had published guidelines to fight infection outbreaks. The guidelines stress the need for hand washing with antiseptic rubs to reduce transmission of antimicrobial-resistant organisms such as methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus, or ‘golden staph’.
A companion report warned health professionals they risked claims for civil damages and criminal actions. “It is conceivable that medical administrators could be charged with offences if they were to permit the spread of infectious disease,” the report warned.
