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Handwashing

16 September, 2020 | Amanda Bugler | 1 Comment

I attended an IPS conference in November 2019 in Southampton. There was an excellent speaker who talked about good handwashing techniques and how the UV light box is now not thought to be the best way of demonstrating how clean hands are after washing. This was because it gave staff the impression that it was not possible to clean your hands with washing as no matter how hard they tried there would always be areas of their hands that would show as unclean therefore endorsing the carers thought that gloves are best. I am a Care Home Manager and I am being asked to purchase one of these boxes which I don't want to do. My Manager's are asking me to back this up with evidence. That particular speaker didn't share her power point , can anyone help me with this?
Amanda Bugler RN QN

1 Comment

Jennie Leleux
Jennie Leleux Oct 5, 2020 08:26 AM

I've done this with GPs and Practice Nurses who moisturise their hands appropriately and it is possible to get all the UV gel off with an effective clean. At the most, clinical staff sometimes have some gel left on their cuticles because their hands are dry, in which case I am always recommending more moisturiser anyway. Hand hygiene is a case of practise. The clinicians always have better hand hygiene with the light box than the admin staff because they have been shown the correct technique more often, attend updates more regularly and are washing their hands more often and with the correct technique. It sounds like your carers are still at the start of their hand hygiene journey. I would say that the UV box would be a good investment, and then use it relatively frequently with an emphasis on improvement. Practice makes perfect!
As I'm sure you know, gloves are not a complete barrier to contamination (due to microscopic holes and the risk of self-contamination on removal) and some of the carers in Care Homes I've worked with have been shocked to find that out, so have you actually told them that? They still need to wash their hands as effectively after using them. And (as I'm sure you know), wearing gloves for too long, or too much of the time, increases hand irritation and therefore the inability to clean them properly. I don't know if anyone's tried or proved this (and don't do it yourself), but it may be that doing the UV gel activity on someone who's worn gloves inappropraitely for any length of time and has irritated and sore hands because of it, may actually have more gel remaining than those who wear them appropriately, and then wash, dry and moisturise their hands effectively too.
I'm rambling but hopefully I've put my point across! I find that the UV boxes and gel make hand hygiene teaching fun, and are a visual aid. Of course, you need to know how to introduce them into teaching sessions in an effective way, and how to answer those seemingly difficult questions that you are mentioning. Happy to help with that if you'd like some support?

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