The Regional Directorate for Health will organise in Ponta Delgada next Wednesday a session to present the outcome of the National Hand Hygiene Campaign, launched in the Azores in April 2009.
The infections related to the provision of health care, particularly hospital-borne infections, are one of the major public health concerns, either for their implications in patient safety or for the economic and social consequences.
Studies conducted worldwide demonstrate that a significant percentage of admitted patients have contracted infections at hospitals, representing an increase of hospitalisation days as well as increased costs.
Evidence also demonstrates that hand hygiene is the best measure to prevent and control hospital-borne infections.
The hospitals of the Azores have joined this campaign and will present the results achieved so far as well as the new practices to be implemented.
The meeting will be attended by nurse Elena Noriega, from the Directorate General of Health, who will present the results of the national campaign. It also includes the testimony of a doctor and a nurse about the importance of this action, implemented following a challenge launched by the World Health Organisation.
The session is presided over by the Regional Director for Health, Sofia Duarte, and will take place at the auditorium of the Divino Espírito Santo Hospital in Ponta Delgada at 10 AM.