World Hand Hygiene Day – 5 May 2023

A glimpse of WHO’s Coronavirus dashboard tells us that across the globe, while COVID-19 cases continue to be reported every day, we are finally looking at a downward trend.  We’ve self-isolated, masked up and coughed into our elbows. We dutifully measured 1.5 metres for social distancing and made hand sanitiser stations a part of everyday life. All for the greater good.

More than three years down the track though, many have become fatigued by the pandemic’s existence. Some have even let their guard down completely.

But there’s one sector of the workforce that will NEVER let their guard down.  They are our nursing professionals – and for their efforts, we thank the founder of modern nursing, Florence Nightingale, who implemented simple cleanliness measures during the Crimean War that drastically reduced death rates and slowed down infection rates. Hand hygiene was one of those measures.

We celebrate World Hand Hygiene Day on 5 May each year as a reminder that infection prevention and control (IPC) is critical to achieving better health outcomes. This year’s slogan is “Accelerate action together. SAVE LIVES – Clean Your Hands” – and for health-care workers the message is to clean their hands at the right time and in the right way. And for their efforts, we thank health professionals everywhere.

Altura Learning is proud to offer a range of courses on infection control and prevention for your learners, including:

For Residential Care

Infection Control: An Overview – describes the different types of infectious agents and the harm they can cause, explains why older people are at increased risk and identifies standard infection control precautions.

Also look out for Infection Control: Cleaning and Infection Control: Laundry.

For Home Care

Infection Control: An Introduction – contains the key principles of infection control, describes how infectious agents spread and identifies simple precautions that can be taken in a home environment.

Safe Food Handling in the Home – identifies food safety hazards in the home and explores appropriate food safety and hygiene measures.

Two more useful additions to your organisation’s infection prevention and control regime are Altura Learning’s Hand Hygiene Essentials and PPE: Donning and Doffing videos.