One of the first things I noted when I reported for work at the Peter Mac was this: they are DEAD SERIOUS about hand hygiene! When I was brought to the desktop to which I was assigned (the caveat being: if no one else is using it), the first thing I was told was that there is a bottle of sterile wipes AND a bottle of alcohol hand rub placed next to the computer, and I was expected to wipe/wash my hands before and after I use the computer!
That was a novel idea for me and I could see the validity of it. I mean, there are not enough desktops to go around and so we had to share and God knows what kind of bugs we have on our hands after attending to patients in the wards or the clinic! Bugs could easily be transferred from one person to another via the keyboard!
Now I shudder to think of the computers in the wards back in Malaysia! I’d probably think twice before I use one again! Heh heh…
There are also numerous ‘DeBug’ stickers stuck all over the hospital, reminding people to wash their hands. In addition there are many witty and funny posters which pasted every where, all conveying the same message: WASH YOUR HANDS!
Here are a few I liked:
Do they work?
Considering that the Peter Mac has ZERO cases of Acinetobacter baumanii and extremely few MRSA cases (although they do have a number of VRE cases); I’d say it’s working!
In contrast, in the hospital where I used to work in in KL (the one that starts with a ‘U’ and ends with a ‘C’), in the neurosurgical ICU, at least 1/3 to 2/3 of the patients there at any one time has either A. baumanii infection or MRSA infection or BOTH! I have personally observed that none of the doctors there wash their hands before and after attending to a patient even though alcohol hand wash and wash basins were easily assessable!
There is one more sign which really impressed me and I think the hospitals (and every place of employment) in Malaysia should seriously consider implementing. Here is the sign:
Don’t you agree with me? 
Mon, 011110 @ 0700
