Australian hospitals step up hand hygiene action

Link: Hand-to-hand fight on bugs

     EVERY visitor to a Victorian public hospital will be asked to disinfect their hands under new infection controls being considered by the State Government. Plans to boost hygiene standards come as the Government tries to wipe out deadly superbugs in our hospitals. Pump-bottles of sterile solution would be placed at the entrance to all wards and visitors would be expected to rub the quick-drying mixture on to their hands before entering. Ben Hart, a spokesman for Health Minister Bronwyn Pike, said the hand hygiene program would not be mandatory, but hospital authorities would urge visitors to participate. "The program has been a great success for hospital staff so the next logical step is to expand that to visitors to make hospitals even safer," he said.