Hospitals and Healthcare

Even in hospitals, where hand hygiene is vital, staff don't always remember to wash their hands. What hope is there for the rest of us? Thankfully, research on handwashing behaviours has some answers.

It seems obvious — wash hands, kill germs, save lives — but it wasn't always this way. When women were dying at high rates in one maternity ward in the 1800s, it took a public health pioneer to work out why.

One of the world’s most crucial and selfless acts is still simply washing your hands.

Millions of bacteria live on our skin without making us sick. It's when they manage to get through that they can be dangerous – particularly if they're resistant to antibiotics.

The dangers have been highlighted in a case of a young girl who drank sanitiser and was placed on a ventilator in intensive care.

This is the story of doctor Ignaz Semmelweis, who in the 19th Century fought to convince his fellow doctors that washing their hands could save patients’ lives. But despite the success of his theory, he met a tragic end.

Video by Fernando Teixeira & Izabela Cardoso

Taranaki District Health Board staff have ranked among the worst in the country at washing their hands, but bosses are confident they are prepared to handle coronavirus.

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