Dentists asked to make hand hygiene go viral

Healthcare acquired infections affect over 4m patients a year in Europe, according to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, and cost around €7bn (£5.5bn) in additional healthcare and direct financial losses. They also exacerbate the growing problem of antimicrobial resistance by increasing the number of prescriptions for antibiotics.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) says dentists have an important part to play in preventing the spread of infections, and is promoting the simple act of hand washing through a printable poster for dental surgeries called Your 5 Moments for Hand Hygiene.

ACOM and the FGDP(UK) are supporting the WHO’s International Hand Hygiene Day by asking dentists to join in with their ‘Thunderclap’, which at 8pm on Thursday, May 5, will automatically post the message “hand hygiene supports safe dental care” to the social networks of those who sign up in advance.

The organisations’ similar collaboration last year on antimicrobial prescribing reached over 83,000 accounts, and they are hoping for a similar impact this time. Mick Horton, dean of FGDP(UK), and Melanie Wilson, chair of ACOM, had this message: