Health and Community Services
May 5, 2014

The following statement was given today in the House of Assembly by the Honourable Paul Davis, Minister of Health and Community Services:

Provincial Government Recognizes STOP! Clean Your Hands Day

Mr. Speaker, today is STOP! Clean Your Hands Day, a national event that coincides with a global initiative of the World Health Organization called Save Lives: Clean Your Hands.
 
The focus of today is to bring greater awareness to the importance of washing our hands as a way of preventing disease by controlling the spread of germs.
 
The simple task of washing your hands with soap and water or an alcohol-based rub can have a significant impact on your health and on the health of everyone you come in contact with.
 
For our health care workers, hand hygiene remains the primary means of reducing health care associated infections.
 
Mr. Speaker, we have placed an emphasis on hand hygiene and we have provided the necessary resources to ensure that patients are protected.
 
While there is always room for improvement, the number of health care associated infections has declined in Newfoundland and Labrador since 2009.
 
As a result of our monitoring and prevention policies, including education and surveillance, we have among the lowest rates of C-difficile infection in Canada and have seen a significant decline in the Staphylococcus infection known as MRSA over the last number of years.
 
Mr. Speaker, while we will continue to work on improving health prevention initiatives within our health care system, I want to strongly encourage all residents to make a habit of regular hand washing. This simple, yet effective action can help prevent the spread of illness such as influenza, norovirus, and many more serious communicable diseases.
 
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

2014 05 05                                        2:25 p.m.