Introduction
Hand hygiene is the act of cleaning your hands using soap and warm running water, alternatively hand hygiene can be achieved by applying an alcohol based gel. Handwashing is an essential factor in eliminating the spread of infection, as it is key that everyone, be it a patient, visitor or healthcare professional helps to reduce the risk of germs by having an awareness of how easily infections can be transmitted via their hands.
Infections can be passed in many different ways, these include airborne viruses which are spread by coughing and sneezing or infections that are transmitted by personal contact.
The Nursing and Midwifery Council (2015) (NMC) state that midwives should ‘promote wellbeing and prevent ill health.’ Handwashing is a key factor in preventing the spread of infection especially in clinical practice. This essay will explore the history of handwashing, why it is important for midwives, and identify how the spread of infection can be prevented. Although I will focus directly on midwives, all health care professionals need to be advocates for hand hygiene.
History of handwashing
The Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (2016) (CDC) state that simple hand hygiene is the prime way to prevent infection. This …show more content…
Even though hand hygiene was founded in the 1800’s by Semmelweis still to this day many do not comply to the medical professional GUIDELINES. Considering the vast amount of knowledge and information readily available, health professionals still don’t give hand washing the correct recognition that it deserves. The best way to do this is to educate midwives and ensure handwashing is seen as an essential rule regardless of time constraints and understaffing. Consequently, education still needs to play a big part in relaying the information to all parties as research has proven if hands are not washed in the correct way this can cause illness and even
Hand hygiene is the act of cleaning your hands using soap and warm running water, alternatively hand hygiene can be achieved by applying an alcohol based gel. Handwashing is an essential factor in eliminating the spread of infection, as it is key that everyone, be it a patient, visitor or healthcare professional helps to reduce the risk of germs by having an awareness of how easily infections can be transmitted via their hands.
Infections can be passed in many different ways, these include airborne viruses which are spread by coughing and sneezing or infections that are transmitted by personal contact.
The Nursing and Midwifery Council (2015) (NMC) state that midwives should ‘promote wellbeing and prevent ill health.’ Handwashing is a key factor in preventing the spread of infection especially in clinical practice. This essay will explore the history of handwashing, why it is important for midwives, and identify how the spread of infection can be prevented. Although I will focus directly on midwives, all health care professionals need to be advocates for hand hygiene.
History of handwashing
The Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (2016) (CDC) state that simple hand hygiene is the prime way to prevent infection. This …show more content…
Even though hand hygiene was founded in the 1800’s by Semmelweis still to this day many do not comply to the medical professional GUIDELINES. Considering the vast amount of knowledge and information readily available, health professionals still don’t give hand washing the correct recognition that it deserves. The best way to do this is to educate midwives and ensure handwashing is seen as an essential rule regardless of time constraints and understaffing. Consequently, education still needs to play a big part in relaying the information to all parties as research has proven if hands are not washed in the correct way this can cause illness and even