National Hand Hygiene Campaign

The 2^nd National Hand Hygiene Campaign in care provision, entitled 'Propper Hänn. Sécher Hänn' is officially launched on 5 May 2011.

This year's national campaign is aimed at both the hospital and rehabilitation sectors, as well as the long-term care and homecare sectors, which are participating for the first time.

The 2011 national campaign has been jointly organised by the Minister of Health, Mr Mars Di Bartolomeo, and the Minister of Family Affairs and Integration, Ms Marie-Josée Jacobs.

The WHO (World Health Organization) has designated 5 May as the day to raise awareness of preventing health care-associated infections and emphasise the importance of cleaning hands.

Germs that cause hospital-acquired infections are primarily spread by hands. Good hand hygiene is the most effective way for health care professionals to prevent these infections. Health care-associated infections are not inevitable; many of them can be prevented.

Preventing infections with a stringent hand hygiene is even more important given the overall increase in the frequency of colonisations and infections by multidrug-resistant organisms, while the availability of antibiotics that are effective against these infections is decreasing.

In 2009, the Ministry of Health organised the 1^st National Hand Hygiene Campaign alongside hospital nurses and hygienists in the acute and medium-term care sectors, with a view to magnifying the impact of awareness and training initiatives rolled out previously in hospitals.

The national associations of the various health care professions, as well as the Agreement of Luxembourg Hospitals (Entente des hôpitaux) and all hospitals providing acute care and/or rehabilitation, took the opportunity to sign the Charter of Commitment to Promoting Hand Hygiene.

There was a high level of engagement from hospitals for the 1^st campaign.

While all categories of professionals targeted by the 1^st national campaign responded positively to the awareness-raising initiatives, this 2^nd national campaign aims to raise the level of compliance with hand hygiene recommendations among all health care professionals above the scores observed during the 1^st campaign.