Hand hygiene promoted through hospital’s poster competition
Staff and patients at the Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital have been sharing their bright ideas to promote infection control by designing special posters to be displayed throughout the hospital.
Throughout the autumn, the RD&E’s Infection Prevention and Control Team (IPCT) ran a competition asking patients and staff to design poster campaigns around an element of infection control. Entries could range from guidance about good clinical practice, information on certain products or facts about a particular type of infection.
In December, Maternity Support Worker Sally Anne Stone and patient Niamh Estille were selected by the IPCT judges for their posters which promoted hand hygiene and the use of antibacterial hand gel. The two lucky winners each received £50 shopping vouchers for John Lewis and Waterstones respectively. The posters will be displayed throughout the hospital to help remind staff, patients and visitors about these important aspects of infection control practice.
Sally Anne used her son and daughter’s handprints for her poster design, which displayed the message ‘Protect not infect’ to promote the importance of washing your hands to prevent the spread of infection. Sally said: “I’m quite creative and the children like arts and crafts, so I thought we’d give it a go. We had a bit of fun designing the poster together and I’m happy that it won.”
Patient Niamh designed her poster whilst spending time in the school room on Bramble Ward. Her concept ‘Use the gel’ was commended by the judges for its simplicity and clear message, promoting the importance of using antibacterial hand gel in hospital. She said: “I didn’t even think that I was going to win so this is a bit of a shock. I love reading books, so I plan to spend my voucher on that.”
Bridget Spooner, Infection Prevention and Control Nurse Specialist, said: “Staff and patient engagement in infection control is vital as we aim to spread the word and promote good practice at the RD&E. Also it’s fun to honour our creative sides for a good cause!”
“Interestingly, both winners highlighted hand hygiene as a topic which is the most important measure we can take to stop the spread of infections, especially this time of year when winter bugs are around. We were impressed with all the entrants but these two stood out as having a clear messages and eye catching designs. We are grateful to Frontier Medical Group and GOJO for sponsoring the prizes.”
