Average compliance rate for hand hygiene at Letterkenny General

The HSE West area is the worst when it comes to doctors failing to clean hands between patients.
A new survey commissioned by the HSE show that nearly one in four doctors fails to clean their hands between patients – increasing the risk of passing on potentially life-threatening infection.
Letterkenny General faired average in the survey while Sligo General Hospital was one of the best performing.
The survey of hand hygiene in 36 acute hospitals revealed that doctors were the worst offenders at 61pc for not washing hands between patients – overall, nearly three in 10 staff were not following the basic rule of infection control.
Hand hygiene is central in reducing the chances of passing on an infectious disease such as MRSA and C difficile.
The worst offending hospital was Galway University Hospital 61.6% taking the oppurtunity to clean hands between patients.
The figure for Letterkenny General was at 71.7% while Sligo General was one of the best performing hospitals at 84.8%.
Dr Kevin Kelleher, the HSE director of health protection, said compliance was lowest in the HSE West stating that Improvement must be a priority.