International

World Patient Safety Day on September 17, 2024

A hospital waiting area where doctors and patients sit in chairs A hospital waiting area where doctors and patients sit in chairs

Get it right, make it safe!

The World Patient Safety Day (WPSD) is celebrated every year on September 17. The international campaign is in the hands of the World Health Organization (WHO) and is being promoted by national associations in various countries. This year’s slogan “Get it right, make it safe” mainly refers to improving diagnosis for patient safety.

Patient safety through patient empowerment

A doctor showing a patient how to disinfect her hands

A reliable and detailed diagnosis improves the safety and well-being of patients by enabling the best possible treatment and care. Only those who receive the correct diagnosis can receive the right medication or targeted prevention to combat or prevent diseases. However, patient safety goes far beyond diagnostic reliability. It is crucial for patient safety that patients gain a better understanding of their own role and acquire knowledge to make qualified decisions. They can also actively participate in the prevention of healthcare-associated infections—namely through good hand hygiene!

Hand hygiene for patients: knowing when, why and how!

Hospitals are home to pathogens that can spread via frequently touched surfaces such as door handles and light switches. To protect themselves and others from infection, patients—and of course, their visitors—should disinfect their hands in certain situations. This is especially true in the following moments [1]:

  • WHEN entering or leaving the patient’s room
  • AFTER using the toilet or bedpan
  • BEFORE and AFTER contact with own wounds, mucous membranes or venous access
  • AFTER contact with frequently touched surfaces in the hospital (e.g. doorknobs, handrails)
  • BEFORE eating, drinking or taking medication

Poster Hygienic Hand Disinfection

A poster with graphic elements showing the steps for hygienic hand disinfection
To the poster

Raising awareness of infection prevention

To improve the hand hygiene of your patients, you as a healthcare professional are particularly important. Your tasks: involve, inform, and encourage!

It can also not harm to critically question your own hand hygiene compliance. Good to know: Contrary to popular belief, skin-compatible hand disinfectants do not dry out the skin when used frequently but increase skin moisture when used regularly [2]. To refresh your basic knowledge, you can find the 5 moments for hand hygiene here at a glance:

Poster 5 moments for Hand Hygiene

A poster with graphic elements showing the 5 moments of hand disinfection
To the poster

Improving patient safety with digital tools

HARTMANN also offers various digital tools that help improve hand hygiene and thus reduce healthcare-associated infections. While My Hygiene SOP helps you improve process compliance, Observe makes it easier for you to monitor hand hygiene compliance. And Hygiene Check can save you time on hygiene inspections, which ultimately also benefits your patients.

A graphic motif showing a digital hygiene inspection in a hospital

Together for greater patient safety

Patient safety and infection protection are everyone’s concern! As a healthcare professional, you can provide clear information and support and show how to properly practice hand hygiene. As a patient, you can learn ‘textbook hand hygiene’ yourself and encourage your visitors to do the same. This year, WPSD is associated with numerous events and activities. You or your institution can simply get involved yourself. The WHO is once again providing you with free materials for this. Share your commitment on social media using the hashtags #MissionInfectionPrevention and #PatientSafety.

Visit our website to find out more about hand hygiene, hand disinfection, and last year’s World Patient Safety Day.

Sources:

  1. WHO (2009) Guidelines on Hand Hygiene in Health Care.
  2. Sadowski T et al. (2024) Illustrating Skin Hydration by Capacitive Contact Imaging after Frequent Hand Disinfection. SOWF Journal 5: 8-13.

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