Kimberly-Clark Professional has launched 'Infection prevention - it's in your hands' - a new programme to help nurses and hospital staff eliminate skin irritation as a barrier to good hand hygiene. The programme consists of a holistic product range and education materials to help hospitals ensure common skin problems, such as dermatitis, do not hamper the prevention of infections.
Skin irritation is the number one reason for the failure of hand hygiene compliance in hospitals, leading to an increased risk of the spread of hospital acquired infections among patients, which costs Britain's hospitals an estimated £1 billion a year.
Research shows skin complaints are widespread in hospitals. One in five nurses in Britain - equivalent to 80,000 - have reported work-related skin problems as a result of repeated hand washing. Meanwhile, 55% of in-patient nurses and 65% of ICU nurses have observable hand dermatitis.
The 'Infection prevention - it's in your hands' programme has specifically been developed to help hospitals improve hand hygiene compliance and reduce the risk of HAIs. The new range of colour-coded Aquarius dispensers provides all the products required to follow the 'wash, dry, sanitise and condition' protocol that Kimberly-Clark recommends. It will help nurses and hospital staff maintain high standards of hand hygiene while keeping their skin healthy.
A complete education programme is available to hospitals, along with the new product range, to ensure nurses, hospital staff, patients and visitors are made aware of the need to follow good hand hygiene practices.
Marta Longhurst, EMEA target market leader, healthcare at Kimberly-Clark Professional, said: “Nurses and hospital staff appreciate the importance of good hand hygiene for patient safety but often find that, due to the nature of their work, they suffer from skin irritation. Continued use of skincare products aggravates the problem - but not using them compromises infection prevention. The solution is to provide products that will not only clean and dry the hands, but care for them too - and this is why we have developed our new programme. It will help hospitals train nurses and staff to follow the protocols that will ensure their hands are clean and in good condition at all times, ultimately reducing the risk of HAIs in the hospital.”
www.kcprofessional.co.uk