Give soap a chance

A campaign has been launched to raise awareness of the importance of regular hand washing, especially before eating or after going to the toilet, to reduce the risk of diarrhoea, vomiting, colds, flu and other illnesses

Hull New Theatre manager Mike Lister with Eileen Henderson of Hull and East Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust

Something as simple as regular hand washing before meals can help to keep you healthy and well.
If you're employed, it can also reduce the number of days you have to take off work due to illness.
This is why the local NHS is urging businesses throughout the city to take part in the Give Soap a Chance campaign – to encourage the local workforce to remember the importance of hand hygiene.
Employers signing up to the campaign will receive an information pack containing posters and leaflets to display around the workplace, stickers for mirrors in the toilets, a hand washing DVD and a certificate to show their support of the public health campaign.
One of the first organisations in Hull to sign up is Hull New Theatre.
Staff are being urged to maintain a healthy daily routine of hand washing, for the benefit of staff and theatre visitors alike.
"We are all aware of how quickly colds and flu can spread in the workplace but perhaps some may forget the fact that a simple thing like washing your hands properly and regularly can put a stop to that," says theatre manager Mike Lister.
"Hull New Theatre is happy to sign up to Give Soap a Chance because it can make a big difference to staff absences and how smoothly a business runs.
"We all need to wash our hands more often and if this reminds us to do so it can only be a good thing."

Bugs and germs...

• half of all men and a quarter of women do not wash their hands after going to the toilet
• there are between two and ten million bacteria between the fingertips and elbow and the number of germs on your fingertips doubles after using the loo
• Norovirus – a common cause of sickness and diarrhoea – can result in people being off work for up to four days
• sickness absences cost employers £495 a year for every worker employed
• germs from the toilet stay alive on hands for up to three hours after each visit

Meanwhile, schools across Hull and the East Riding are being encouraged to take part to ensure pupils, teachers and parents all adopt good hand washing habits at school and in the home.
And visitors to Princes Quay and St Stephen's shopping centres were recently given the chance to find out how clean their hands really were by using a lightbox (which shows up areas of the hands missed after washing) and take away free bars of soap as NHS staff manned information stalls to help get the message across.
The campaign itself follows on from a recent consultation called 'We're All Ears', where earlier this year NHS Hull consulted with 10,000 local residents in the city's biggest ever health survey.
People were asked their views about health and health services in the city through telephone and face to face surveys.
Infection and cleanliness were named as important issues to local people.
"Many people are unaware about how many germs can remain on their hands even after washing," says Eileen Henderson, the assistant to medical director for Hull and East Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust.
"It's not just about washing your hands regularly but learning to wash them properly.
This may sound very simple but it is amazing how many people do not do so and yet something this simple can really reduce the outbreak and spread of infections in Hull and the East Riding."
"I really hope that employers get involved in the campaign and Give Soap a Chance."

How best to wash your hands...

• rub hands palm to palm with hot soapy water
• interlock the fingers, while rubbing your palms together, working the soap and water over your skin
• work your fingers around each thumb in a circular motion
• wash for at least 15 seconds
• rinse hands with water
• dry thoroughly with a clean towel

info

For more information on the campaign and to sign up for a business information pack visit www.wash-hands.com

Working in partnership
NHS Hull tel. (01482) 344700