From Ighomuaye Lucky, Benin
The Chief Medical Director, University of Benin Teaching Hospital (UBTH), Prof Darlington Obaseki, has said the spread of infectious diseases from healthcare workers to patients or patients to healthcare workers can be reduced drastically if both adhere strictly to hand washing hygiene.
He made the assertion at the hospital during the world hand hygiene day celebration with the theme, “healthcare quality and safety climate and culture that value hand hygiene and infection prevention and control.”
“Safe hygiene is very vital in the health care system and facilities to prevent healthcare-associated infections.
“Most of the infections are carried from patients to patients, from health care workers to patients or health care workers to health care workers.”
“Patients’ safety is one of the pillars of quality healthcare; nobody should come to the hospital with one ailment and leave with another.
“This is why we sensitize patients, healthcare workers, visitors, and management on the importance of handwashing hygiene,” he maintained.
He cautioned patients and healthcare workers to adopt regular washing of hands in the hospital as it could reduce the spread of infections.
“We are sensitizing the whole hospital because patient safety in UBTH is very important to us”, he said.
Earlier, Dr Esohe Ogboghodo, the Chairman of Infection Prevention and Control in UBTH, said the sensitization was to draw the attention of patients and health workers to the need for safe hand washing hygiene because 80 per cent of healthcare-associated infections are spread through hands.
She said the hospital had made available constant running water, liquid soaps, and hand sanitisers to prevent the spread of infectious diseases.
Ogboghodo further commended health care workers for leading by example and encouraging others to clean their hands, stressing, “If we wash our hands regularly, we can reduce infection greatly.”