Trust will wipe floor with superbugs

Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust says it is aiming to floor the spread of hospital infections with an eye-catching new hand-washing campaign.

The trust has introduced a series of "floor posters" at Stafford and Cannock Chase Hospitals to stop people in their tracks and remind them of the importance of washing their hands before entering wards.

The posters were installed outside wards at both hospitals to help mark the end of the trust's Infection Control Awareness Week – an event highlighting the importance of hygiene codes for staff, patients and visitors alike.

Other activities which took place during the event last week included a hand hygiene roadshow, "bug busting" displays, staff quizzes and a "dump the junk" day.

Last week also saw the trust reveal a substantial drop in MRSA and Clostridium Difficile rates.

Helen Moss, director of nursing and governance, said: "We are committed in our responsibility to do everything we can to reduce our infection rates. We take infection control extremely seriously and we are working hard to ensure our standards of clinical practice reflect this.

"The posters will provide people with a highly visible reminder of the essential handwashing procedures. It is important everyone takes responsibility for their hand cleanliness. People must ensure they wash their hands and use the alcohol gel provided when they enter and leave a ward to help us win the fight against MRSA and C Difficile.

"We've seen significant increase in the amount of soap, alcohol gel and paper towels being using at the trust, which proves the hand hygiene message is being heeded."

Since the launch of the Hands Up For A Cleaner Hospital campaign last year, the trust says its staff have used 550 more litres of alcohol gel and an extra 3.4 million paper hand towels.

And during the last six months, the campaign has helped Stafford Hospital get through 820 litres of alcohol gel and almost six million paper hand towels, while Cannock Chase Hospital has used 228 litres of alcohol gel and almost two million paper towels. During the same period, the trust also used 2,952 litres of liquid soap.