Hand Hygiene project - Results from the Victorian Quality Council Hand Hygiene Sustainability Forum

Page contents: Discussion points | Major themes | Suggested sustainability approaches | Download document

In March 2007, VQC held the Hand Hygiene Sustainability Forum. The aim of the forum was to assist health services to develop and collate practical ideas that could be formulated into strategies for hand hygiene sustainability prior to the completion of the project.

The forum involved over 100 participants from metropolitan, regional and rural health services. Participants used interactive group work to develop ideas based on a number of discussion points related to short, medium and long-term strategies to sustain hand hygiene practice.

Discussion points

1. What strategies can we employ to influence individual behaviour change now and in the medium term? (6–18 months).
2. What are the strategies for policy/organisational structure change that will work now and in the medium term? (6–18 months).
3. What strategies must be developed to influence individual behaviour change in the long term? (beyond 18 months).
4. What strategies must be developed for policy/organisational change in the long term? (beyond 18 months).

A final discussion point was considered at the conclusion of the forum to assess the top priorities for sustaining hand hygiene in Victoria.

5. What are the top priorities for sustainability of effective hand hygiene practice in Victoria?

Major themes

The ideas that were most frequently suggested by the forum participants represent the elements considered essential for developing sustainable hand hygiene culture and are organised under the headings developed in the VQC Safety and Quality Framework that are applicable across all aspects of service provision and care.

The headings represent four key organisational elements necessary for the effective improvement of the quality of health care and include:

• governance, leadership and culture
• consumer and community involvement
• competence and education
• information management and reporting.
  

Suggested sustainability approaches

1. Health services and organisations:
   Develop a sustainability readiness checklist for health services that can be used as a guide when developing strategies for hand hygiene sustainability. Include key elements of sustainability.
2. Educational institutions and professional bodies:
   Correspond with educational institutions and professional bodies to reiterate the importance of training in hand hygiene principles, encourage them to promote hand hygiene and incorporate hand hygiene education into curriculum development.
3. Governing bodies/other authorities:
   Develop a summary document for distribution to other governing bodies such as funding bodies, government health departments, accrediting bodies and regulatory bodies for their possible consideration and action.
   

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