It has been noted worldwide that a stay at any health care center often opens the doors to other added infections which can complicate matters causing discomfort and increased added risks to patients.A recent survey done in Canada revealed that one-tenth of patients in Canada are forced to stay longer in a hospital owing to some other infection picked up during their stay there.Such infections picked up during a course of treatment at a health centre are termed ‘nosocomial infections’ in medical jargon some of which are often life threatening.
At a conference held in Canada last week it was pointed out by Phil Hassen, head of the Canadian Patient Safety Institute that one sure shot way of curbing nosocomial infections was the habit of regular handwashing. Instead of using soap and water most health care workers nowadays resort to rubbing their hands with alcohol which has been proven to cutdown the chances of infection to almost half.Canada is the 30th nation to join hands with the WHO in taking a vow to make every effort to reduce health care acquired infections according to Sir Liam Donaldson, chairman of the World Alliance for Patient Safety.In an interview he emphasized the need to train, assess and improve the skills of all health workers to ensure safe practices and to stress that it indeed lies in the hands of the health workers.
Source-Medindia
MST
