World Hand Hygiene Day (WHHD) on Monday 5 May is an opportunity to highlight the importance of hand hygiene in preventing infection every day.
We know that good hand hygiene remains one of the most effective ways to prevent the spread of infection in any healthcare setting or at home.
Using gloves in healthcare
WHHD this year focuses on hand hygiene practice and the use of gloves in healthcare. Regardless of whether or not gloves are worn, good hand hygiene is still one of the most important measures to protect patients and healthcare workers.
Gloves can get contaminated as easily as bare hands and do not fully protect against infectious micro-organisms. When gloves are worn, hand hygiene should still be performed.
See the WHO’s 5 moments for hand hygiene
We must also be conscious that excessive glove use creates significant healthcare waste. Using gloves when not needed wastes resources and does not necessarily reduce the spread of micro-organisms. Appropriate glove use and good hand hygiene can help minimise this waste.
Link with your colleagues in infection prevention and control (IPC) and antimicrobial resistance (AMS) for access to training and guidance on good IPC and AMS measures.
Visit healthpromotion.ie to download or order resources on hand hygiene and using gloves appropriately.
Mandatory hand hygiene training
AMRIC’s Hand Hygiene training is available on the AMRIC hub at HSeLanD. This training is now mandatory for all staff in the HSE and in HSE funded services. WHHD is an opportunity to remind staff to complete this training. While hand hygiene training has long been a key component of IPC policies in healthcare, the mandatory training is for all staff, clinical and non-clinical. It’s crucial that everyone understands the role they have to play in preventing infection and practicing good hand hygiene and IPC across all our health settings.
IPC information, training and guidance is readily available. This is key to supporting a culture of good hand hygiene across all our services.
Access the World Hand Hygiene Day 2025 Partner Pack (PDF, 9 pages, 1.74 MB)