ECJ EUROPEAN Cleaning Journal

Concerns have been raised over poor hand hygiene in some of the UK's acute hospitals which could be contributing to an increase in infections.

Five wards across the Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust scored poorly in a recent hand hygiene audit. The trust has also recorded a total of 72 cases of Clostridium difficile infections over the past year - 19 more than the previous year and three above the limit set by Oxfordshire Clinical Commissioning Group.

Members of the Oxford University Hospitals board have expressed fears that the results could indicate a much wider problem.

"It always strikes me that hand hygiene is pretty basic and fundamental, especially at a hospital," said OUH non-executive director Geoffrey Salt. "It looks pretty scary."

The Trust - which runs the John Radcliffe Hospital and the Churchill Hospitals - recently held a series of events to focus on the importance of hand hygiene.

Speaking at the meeting OUH medical director Dr Tony Berendt said he was "disappointed' with the number of C.difficile cases and admitted that work was needed to improve hand hygiene throughout the Trust. And he added that it was often the World Health Organisation's fifth "moment of hand hygiene" where healthcare workers failed to follow hygiene guidelines.

"The problem occurs when you're in and around the immediate patient environment and you don't decontaminate, touching the bed or the table next to the bed that the patient has been handling," he said.

Members agreed that there was a need to focus on good hand hygiene as an important step in minimising infection rates.