pt-pt flag go to the original language article
This article has been translated by Artificial Intelligence (AI). The news agency is not responsible for the content of the translated article. The original was published by Helena Neves.

Portuguese health professionals are among those who wash their hands the most.

by AI | 06.May 2024 | Europe in brief AI

The data on the number of hand hygiene opportunities observed, reflecting the intensity of hand hygiene compliance monitoring during the most recent year, was reported by 1,022 hospitals from 23 countries of the European Union and European Economic Area (EU/EEA).

Photo: Uwe Zucchi/dpa

Portugal, Ireland, Luxembourg, and Slovenia are the countries where health professionals adhere most to hand hygiene in hospitals, according to data released today by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC).

The data are part of the third Point Prevalence Survey of Healthcare-Associated Infections (HAIs) and antimicrobials in acute care hospitals 2022-2023, coordinated by the ECDC, released today at a press conference to mark World Hand Hygiene Day.

“The average number of hand hygiene opportunities observed in the previous year was 3.6 opportunities per 1,000 patient-days, with 23.3% of hospitals reporting no hand hygiene observations, and 3.9% of hospitals reporting more than 100 opportunities per 1,000 patient-days, mainly in Ireland, Italy, and Portugal,” reads the report, which the Lusa agency had access to.

“The percentage of hospitals with a number of hand hygiene opportunities above the median ranged from 0% in Cyprus, Iceland, Kosovo, and Montenegro to 80% or more in Ireland, Luxembourg, Portugal, and Slovenia,” the document highlights.

The median percentage of beds with an alcohol gel dispenser at the point of care increased from 52.8%, in the 2016-2017 survey, to 63% in the 2022-2023 study. According to the data, “the percentage ranged from less than 10% in Bulgaria, Romania, Kosovo, and Serbia to more than 90% in Hungary, Luxembourg, Portugal, and Spain.”

Every year, 4.3 million patients hospitalized in hospitals in the European Union and the European Economic Area contract at least one healthcare-associated infection during their hospitalization.