By IANS,
Toronto : With bacterial infections in Canadian hospitals and nursing homes causing a large number of deaths, the nation’s top health supervisory body has made it mandatory for health-care institutes to monitor hand-washing by their staff.
Accreditation Canada has asked all accredited hospitals and nursing homes to put in place measures for monitoring hand-washing by January 2009.
Wendy Nicklin, CEO of Accreditation Canada, said all accredited hospitals and nursing homes will be required to institute their own evaluation process to ensure that proper hand-washing techniques are followed by the medical staff.
The step has reportedly been prompted by the outbreaks of bacterial infections – known as methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and C. difficile – in some Canadian hospitals.
Nicklin said proper hand-washing techniques could prevent outbreak of such infections in the future.
More than 1,000 hospitals and nursing homes across Canada are accredited with Accreditation Canada which sets standards for patient care at these facilities.
Proper hand-washing training for medical staff is part of these standards.