Dudley Council is marking World Hand Hygiene Day today by stressing the importance of clean hands.

The World Health Organisation’s annual 'Save Lives: Clean Your Hands' campaign is a global drive to improve hand hygiene in health care, marked every year on the same date all over the world.

The campaign is considered even more important this year set against the context of the Covid-19 pandemic, where it has been recognised that regularly washing hands can reduce the risk of transmission of the virus. The theme this year is to “achieve effective hand hygiene action at the point of care”. Karen Wright, director of public health, said:

"Thorough hand washing is one of the easiest ways to reduce health-care associated infections. We are calling on every member of staff to redouble their efforts to ensure effective hand washing at the point of care.

"The point of care is where the patient, the health care worker and treatment come together. To prevent the spread of infections, hand washing should be performed when needed at specific moments and using the right technique.

"Everyone has a part to play so we are urging staff, patients, carers and visitors to help tackle infection by washing their hands and making use of the hand rub that is widely available throughout our facilities."

More information about the importance of hand washing can be found on the campaign to improve public safety website.