Every day, in hospitals around the world, a war is being fought.
The war I am talking about is not against what you think. It is not a war against diseases like tuberculosis, cancer, malaria, HIV or heart disease. This war is against hospital-acquired infection and drug resistant bacteria.
Most people think that hospitals are the places to recover from an illness and disease. However, millions of people worldwide are affected by hospital-acquired infections – infections that patients get from their medical care in the hospital. These infections also tend to be more serious with long-term disability and high rates of mortality. Most of the time, they are caused by drug resistant organisms. These so called ‘super bugs’ can be resistant to most or all available antibiotics.
However, many of these infections can be prevented when simple practices are used in hospitals and OPDs. The single most important way to prevent hospital-acquired infection is proper hand washing. The hands of nurses and doctors are a common source of infection as they come in contact to many things in the hospital as well as patients themselves. Doctors and nurses can spread drug resistant bacteria to different objects in the hospital environment as well as directly to other patients if they do not wash their hands properly.
In a survey conducted last year, it was found that the rate of hand hygiene practice in three teaching hospitals around Kathmandu was at 20-30 per cent.
Although it may sound like a simple thing to do, the rates of hand washing practice among nurses and doctors worldwide is generally poor. This is no different in Nepal. In a survey conducted last year, it was found that the rate of hand hygiene practice in three teaching hospitals around Kathmandu was at 20-30 per cent. The reasons for low rates of hand hygiene in countries like Nepal include lack of knowledge on the importance of proper hand washing.
Other reasons include unavailability of soap and clean water or alcohol-based hand sanitiser, lack of monitoring of hand washing practice and lack of support by hospital management and senior staff.
Proper hand washing is a simple method of reducing hospital-acquired infections in hospitals around the world. This is also the main objective of “Save Lives: Clean Hands,” a global campaign sponsored by World Health Organization around the world. The campaign is organised to support efforts to increase hand hygiene practice.
Greater understanding on the part of doctors, nurses, hospital management, government health officials and patients is needed in order to support better hand washing practice in hospitals and fight back against hospital acquired infection and drug resistant bacteria.
(The author is an Infectious Disease Specialist at Grande International Hospital).
