When to clean
your hands
• Please clean your hands when you come into the
healthcare setting or before you visit a resident.
• Always clean your hands with soap and water
after visiting the toilet.
Healthcare Staff
It is good practise for all healthcare staff to wash their
hands or to use an alcohol hand rub prior to contact with
your wound, or doing your observations, making your
bed or examining you.
If this does not happen, ask your healthcare staff to
clean their hands and they will be happy to oblige.
• Always clean your hands before eating or
handling food.
• Please clean your hands after visiting a resident
or when leaving a healthcare setting.
If you are resident in a healthcare setting:
• You should be offered the opportunity to clean
your hands after using the toilet or commode or
before meals or drinks.
If you’re caring for a baby:
• Always wash your hands after changing the
baby’s nappy.
• Make sure to wash your hands before feeding the
baby.
For further information on infection prevention
and control contact
Cork / Kerry Disability Services
Tel 021 4923148
Mobile 086 7872179
St Finbarr’s Hospital, Cork
Mobile 086 7871393
Infection Prevention and Control
Hand
Hygiene
for Residents
and Visitors
Cork Community Services
Tel 021 4923148
Mobile 087 6299567
Kerry Community Services
Mobile 086 7871397
Be nice to your hands
It is important that you care for your hands.
☞ Always cover any cuts with a waterproof
plaster.
☞ When you can, apply handcream as this
protects your hands and helps prevent dryness
and chapping of hands.
Adapted from HSE Leaflet Clean Hands Saves Lives
Information for Patients and Visitors
Long Term Care and Community Services
Revision 1 - Jan 2014
Why is Hand
Hygiene so
important?
Hand hygiene is one of the simplest and most
effective ways to control the spread of infections in
hospitals and healthcare settings. However,
handwashing is often neglected or carried out poorly.
Every person visiting or resident in healthcare
settings can help to stop the spread of infections such
as Gastroenteritis (Vomiting Bug) or Flu.
Hands will pick up germs (bacteria and viruses),
and even though they may appear to be clean, the
germs will be there. Unfortunately we cannot see
germs with the naked eye. These germs can be
easily removed by hand hygiene. Visitors to a
healthcare setting can bring infections into the
healthcare setting without being aware of it.
Top tips for
cleaning your hands
☞ No half measures! If you’re washing your hands, wet
them thoroughly with water before applying soap.
☞ Rub hands together to work up a lather with the
soap. All surfaces of both hands should then be
vigorously massaged with the lather.
☞ Remember to pay special attention to the finger
tips, thumbs and between the fingers as these areas
are frequently missed.
☞ Are you left or right handed? Be aware that right
handed people have a tendency to wash the left
hand more thoroughly (and vice versa).
☞ Rings! If you wear a ring, it is important you wash
underneath it, by moving the ring as you wash.
☞ Make sure you rinse all the soap off your hands
under running water and then dry your hands
thoroughly. Don’t forget to dry under your ring.
☞ The 30 Second Rule! Remember, it should take
around 30 seconds to wash your hands.
Technique
When washing your hands:
• Wet hands thoroughly under running water
• Apply soap, covering all areas of the hands, working
up a lather.
Then:
1. Rub palm to palm
2. Rub backs of both hands
3. Rub palm to palm with
fingers interlaced
4. Rub backs of fingers
(interlocked)
Remember! Clean Hands Save Lives.
Whether you are a resident or visitor, follow these
top tips and you will help us control infection in all
healthcare settings.
Alcohol hand rubs
Alcohol hand rubs are available in many healthcare
settings to clean your hands, when using an alcohol rub.
Remember:
• Alcohol hand rubs should only be used if your hands
look clean.
5. Rub both thumbs
6. Rub both palms with
fingertips and rub each wrist
• Rub the solution into all areas of your hands.
• Continue rubbing until your hands are dry.
• Alcohol hand rubs are not sufficient for cleaning your
hands after using the toilet.
• Rinse hands under running water and dry
thoroughly
This handwashing technique is based on procedure described by G.A.J. Ayliffe et al. J. Clin. Path. 1978, 31:923
We gratefully acknowledge ICI Pharmaceuticals UK for providing guide drawings. © H.G. Wallace Ltd. 1991