Boyce JM

Carter KC

Chief Medical Officer Annual Report

Gould DJ

National Audit Office

Public Health England

Russell AD

Suchitra JB

World Health Organization

 Millennia ago, physicians established the principle that healthcare should do no harm. In the mid-19th century, Semmelweis made the connection between hand washing and prevention of infection. At the beginning of the 21st century, the UK had one of the highest rates of healthcare-associated infections in Europe. Despite the increasing vulnerability of an ageing population, the UK has succeeded in achieving impressive declines in healthcare-associated infections in recent years. Improved anti-microbial stewardship and hand hygiene have resulted in a 69 % reduction in Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) bacteraemia rates and a 59 % reduction in Clostridium difficile infections over the last five years. The barriers to best practice in hand hygiene are lack of time, equipment and inadequate education, and a culture that enables suboptimal hand hygiene to persist. Managers can and should adopt a multifaceted approach to enable and empower staff change workplace culture and promote patient safety. </jats:p

Linda Nazarko

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British Journal of Healthcare Management

Putting patient safety at the heart of healthcare

Putting patient safety at the heart of healthcare

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