According to new Government figures, NHS Forth Valley is once again the top mainland board in Scotland for hand hygiene.Staff achieved their best ever success rate - 99% - compared with a national average of 92%.
Nurse Consultant in Infection Prevention and Control, Sarah Murdoch, described the latest performance as outstanding. She said the H1N1 (swine flu) pandemic had raised public awareness of how important it is to use soap and water as well as hand rub, and said there was no substitute for good old-fashioned soap and water.
"We have increased our capacity for hand hygiene training. Every ward and department will now have someone who can teach the correct hand washing technique and increase compliance at a local level. This is certainly paying dividends and contributing greatly to improved patient safety."
NHS Forth Valley has also installed audible message units in the entrances to hospital wards urging people to make sure their hands are clean and use the hand rub provided. The voices of porters, domestic staff, secretaries, nurses and medical consultants have been used to record the messages, and the system was commended during a recent inspection at Stirling Royal Infirmary by the Healthcare Environment Inspectorate.
Hand hygiene figures are now being published nationally every two months instead of every quarter.
Here are some top tips for people visiting hospital: