Media contact: Amy Winter, Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care on 02 9263 3605 or
amy.winter@safetyandquality.gov.au
MEDIA RELEASE - EMBARGOED UNTIL 12.01AM, MAY 5 2009
NATIONAL HAND HYGIENE PROGRAM AIMS TO HALVE
HOSPITAL SUPERBUG INFECTIONS
A new world-first national hand hygiene program is being rolled out across Australian hospitals in
a bid to halve the rate of antibiotic-resistant ‘superbug’ patient infections.
The National Hand Hygiene Initiative is based on groundbreaking Australian research
i
that shows
using alcohol-based hand rub is the single most effective intervention in controlling
Staphylococcus aureus blood stream infections (SAB), including the Methicillin-resistant
Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) or ‘golden staph’ disease.
This is a world-first, step-by-step program to improve hand hygiene in hospitals and other health
services and to monitor hand hygiene compliance among healthcare workers. If healthcare
workers use alcohol-based hand rub before and after contact with patients in the prescribed way,
the rate of Staphylococcus aureus infections is expected to halve.
The Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care has instigated, and is funding,
the Initiative.
“This is a very exciting development in the fight against patient infection and represents a simple
but highly effective program to improve hand hygiene in every public and private hospital in
Australia,” says Professor Chris Baggoley, Chief Executive of Australian Commission on Safety
and Quality in Health Care.
“By improving infection control, the Initiative has the potential to save the lives of more than 1,500
Australians a year – a figure similar to the national road toll,” Professor Baggoley says.
The National Hand Hygiene Initiative officially begins today, 5 May, to coincide with the World
Health Organization’s Save Lives: Clean your Hands day.
"MRSA or ‘golden staph’ disease is a major problem for hospitals worldwide. We need to make
infection control everyone’s business in the health system and the wider community to help
address this problem," says Professor Baggoley.
Australia’s National Hand Hygiene Initiative is being implemented by Hand Hygiene Australia.
The Director of Hand Hygiene Australia, Professor Lindsay Grayson, is also Director of Infectious
Diseases at Austin Health in Victoria. He undertook the ground-breaking, award winning,
research featured last year in the Medical Journal of Australia that demonstrates the
effectiveness of alcohol-based hand rub in reducing blood stream infections.
“The research demonstrates that where health professionals consistently use an alcohol-based
hand rub for just 15 seconds, the rates of golden staph infections are half those in hospitals
where health professionals are required to wash their hands for one minute using traditional soap
and water,” says Professor Grayson, who is also Australia’s World Health Organization hand
hygiene representative.
Media contact: Amy Winter, Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care on 02 9263 3605 or
amy.winter@safetyandquality.gov.au
“It is the first time an initiative has been shown to work across multiple sites, across an entire
health system in a sustained way, over many years.”
The Initiative has the strong support of the Commonwealth Minister for Health and all State and
Territory Health Ministers, which fund the Commission.
Hand Hygiene Australia will work closely with existing State/Territory strategies and campaigns to
maximise the success of the Initiative. While initially focusing on acute-care hospitals, Hand
Hygiene Australia resources will also be available for all public and private healthcare facilities.
The program represents clear, national guidelines for hand hygiene. It includes an online
education program to inform all healthcare workers about infection control and hand hygiene, and
will push for all Australian medical and nursing curricula to include training on the importance of
effective hand hygiene.
<Ends>
Radio News Grabs Available:
Spokesperson: Professor Lindsay Grayson, Director of Hand Hygiene Australia
Telephone Hotline: 1300 732 445, Menu 1, Option 2
Media Contacts:
Interviews and/or photo opportunities are available with:
Professor Chris Baggoley, Chief Executive of Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in
Health Care
Professor Lindsay Grayson, Director of Hand Hygiene Australia
To arrange an interview or photo, contact Amy Winter, Australian Commission on Safety and
Quality in Health Care on 02 9263 3605 or amy.winter@safetyandquality.gov.au
About the Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care
The Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care is funded by and reports
directly to all Australia’s Health Ministers. It works closely with all States and Territories, public
and private hospitals, and primary care providers. The Commission leads and coordinates
improvement in safety and quality in heath care in Australia by identifying issues and policy
directions, recommending priorities for action disseminating knowledge, and advocating for safety
and quality.
i
Grayson et al, Significant Reductions in MRSA Bacteraemia and clinical isolates associated with a multisite, hand hygiene culture-
change program and subsequent successful sate-wide rollout, Medical Journal of Australia, 2 June 2008.
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