OTTAWA, May 05, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- “COVID-19 is a serious public health threat,” says Dr. Theresa Tam, Canada’s Chief Medical Officer. “All Canadians must act now to reduce the spread. Protect yourself and others – especially those with medical conditions and older adults.”
This year, clean hands have never mattered more to help flatten the curve and reduce the impact of this pandemic. The Canadian Patient Safety Institute’s STOP! Clean Your Hands campaign has never been so important. Thousands of healthcare providers in hundreds of healthcare sites across Canada will participate – led by the Canadian Patient Safety Institute in conjunction with the World Health Organization’s SAVE LIVES: Clean Your Hands campaign.
“We have been building awareness on hand hygiene for the past 15 years,” says CEO Chris Power of the Canadian Patient Safety Institute (CPSI). “This effort has never been as important as it is now. We want to thank the World Health Organization, the Public Health Agency of Canada, each health organization across the country, and every person in Canada, for joining us in the STOP! Clean Your Hands campaign this year. You are to thank for helping us get the message out in order to keep you and your loved ones safe.”
#STOPCleanYourHands Day is on Tuesday, May 5, 2020. However, we are inviting you to take the Clean Hands Self Assessment today and share it with your networks every day! Are you protecting yourself and your loved ones from infections? Are you showing others how to clean their hands properly, either with soap and water or an alcohol-based rub? Together, we can all take this one easy step and help reduce the impact of the pandemic.
“We’re all feeling confused, scared, not sure what we can do to help,” says Carmen Stephens, a member of Patients for Patient Safety Canada, CPSI’s patient-led program. “STOP! Clean Your Hands tells us that there is something every one of us can do. Avoid touching your face. Cough or sneeze into your arm. Stay home as much as possible. But most of all, STOP and clean your hands. Now is the time to act, but we must act together.”
Over the next 30 years in Canada, infections will be the biggest driver of acute care patient safety incidents, accounting for roughly 70,000 patient safety incidents per year on average – generating an additional $480 million per year on average in healthcare costs. Healthcare-associated infections (HAIs), or infections acquired in a healthcare setting, are the most frequently reported adverse events in healthcare delivery worldwide. Each year, hundreds of millions of patients are affected by HAIs, leading to significant morbidity and mortality and financial cost to healthcare systems (WHO n.d.).
“We’re all feeling confused, scared, not sure what we can do to help,” says Carmen Stephens, a member of CPSI’s patient-led Patients for Patient Safety Canada program. “STOP! Clean Your Hands tells us that there is something every one of us can do. Avoid touching your face. Cough or sneeze into your arm. Stay home as much as possible. But most of all, STOP and clean your hands. Now is the time to act, but we must act together.”
STOP! Clean Your Hands Day is led by the Canadian Patient Safety Institute. Partners include the Public Health Agency of Canada, Infection Prevention Control Canada, Patients for Patient Safety Canada, Public Health Ontario, Canadian Foundation for Healthcare Improvement, Health Standards Organization, Alberta Health Services, Winnipeg Regional Health Authority, and l’Association des infirmières en prévention des infections. CPSI is a WHO Collaborating Centre for Patient Safety and Patient Engagement. The Canadian Patient Safety Institute would like to thank our STOP! Clean Your Hands Day sponsor GOJO Industries, Inc. for their generous support.
Media contact:
Christopher Thrall, Communications Officer
Canadian Patient Safety Institute
cthrall@cpsi-icsp.ca
780-566-8375
A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/f047ee12-ee74-4eb4-b79f-2e55ddd423ef