Patient Outcomes
Hand Hygiene is very important to the staff at Shellharbour Private Hospital, we measure and compare ourselves with other hospitals in Australia.
Healthe Care was the first Australian Private Hospital group to hold the National Hand Hygiene Initiative 5 Moments Workshop in collaboration with the Hand Hygiene Australia Team.
Each opportunity for hand hygiene is called a “moment”. Five Moments for hand hygiene have been identified by the World Health Organisation as the critical times when hand hygiene should be performed in hospital. These are:
- Before touching a patient
- Before a procedure
- After a procedure
- After touching a patient
- After touching a patient’s belongings or surroundings
Gold standard auditors accredited by Hand Hygiene Australia are in place throughout our hospitals. They are responsible for the Hand Hygiene Program including auditing the “five moments” to identify how well all staff and doctors wash their hands. Hand washing compliance audits are conducted 3 times a year and the results are reported to Hand Hygiene Australia as part of national benchmarking of compliance rates.
Anyone that comes in contact with a patient is encouraged to practice good hand hygiene prior to visiting or conducting care. We know that good hand hygiene reduces the risk of transmission of infection. Alcohol based skin preparations are widely distributed throughout our hospitals to provide every opportunity to wash your hands
