Scotland calls for ban on hand gels, encouraging adequate handwashing facilities to replace them

One of Scotland's most senior doctors, Dr Charles Saunders, head of the British Medical Association's Consultants' Committee in Scotland, has called for a ban on hand sanitizing gels. He says that while they were put into hospitals to help protect against MRSA and to encourage better hand hygiene, the gels don't actually help to prevent C.diff.

Dr. Saunders has said that the dispensers cause confusion about adequate hand hygiene and infection control, and many doctors, nurses, and other hospital staff members don't know that the gels are "ineffective". In fact, "lack of knowledge among healthcare staff about the ineffectiveness of the gels may be one of the reasons for Scotland's appalling C diff figures."

'"In terms of preventing the spread of infection, the most important and effective method is hand-washing, whatever the organism. People should be washing their hands after touching each patient. The problem is that some hospitals do not have adequate facilities for handwashing, which is one of the issues highlighted in the report into Vale of Leven,"' Dr. Saunders has said. '"Staff have been told that they could use alcohol gel instead of washing their hands. That is not a good message to give people. They should be told they should wash their hands, but a lot of wards have dispensers when they should have more hand-basins. What would make sense would be for hospitals to remove the dispensers and replace them with adequate hand-washing facilities in wards and clinical areas."'

Information taken from the Scotland on Sunday article: http://scotlandonsunday.scotsman.com/health/Call-for-ban-on-superbug.4398723.jp