The Balearic Islands Health Service joins the “Save Lives: Clean Your Hands” campaign promoted by the World Health Organisation (WHO) on the occasion of World Hand Hygiene Day. The Regional Hand Hygiene Program, implemented across healthcare centres in the Balearic Islands under the framework of the National Health System, is also participating in the campaign.

The initiative promotes hand hygiene as an effective and low-cost measure to prevent healthcare-associated infections and the spread of multidrug-resistant microorganisms. It is estimated that between 20% and 30% of infectious diseases could be prevented with proper hand hygiene.

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Health Authorities Emphasise the Importance of Proper Hand Hygiene to Prevent Infectious Diseases

This year’s slogan is “Gloves Sometimes, Hand Hygiene Always,” highlighting the continued need for countries to improve infection prevention and control efforts.

The campaign focuses on two key messages:

• Healthcare professionals should clean their hands at the five key moments defined by the WHO: before touching a patient; before performing a clean/aseptic procedure; after exposure to bodily fluids; after touching a patient; and after touching the patient’s surroundings. Hand hygiene remains a simple, effective, and economical tool to prevent infections related to healthcare delivery.

Every year on May 5, professional teams from each management division of the Health Service involved in the Hand Hygiene Program organise a variety of activities, such as informational booths, training sessions, poster displays, and even escape rooms, to stress the importance of hand hygiene among healthcare workers.