Monthly Archives: February 2015

“Save lives, clean your hands”

The first time I heard about hand hygiene was in Geneva in 2006 at a meeting for patients’ champions organised by the World Alliance for Patients Safety. I have been involved in this cause ever since as healthcare-associated infections can be prevented through good hand cleaning. It is so important when we know that every year thousands of people die because of this.

I wanted to implement hand hygiene basic rules in Poland and other countries of Eastern Europe. At that time our patients were still passive, they could not imagine asking a healthcare professional to “please wash hands before you touch me.” Yet I realised I needed to talk with patients groups in hospitals, during workshops, etc. I tried also to translate the form about how to wash hands from English into Polish, but it was difficult because of the formal language so we just showed to patients how to do this properly.

I also joined the WHO campaign in 2009 “Save lives – clean your hands” to advocate for improved hand hygiene practices of healthcare workers. This period was amazing for me as hand hygiene is only the starting point of a wider need for patients’ involvement and better communication with doctors and nurses.

Keeping hands clean is one of the most important steps we can take to avoid getting sick and spreading germs to others. There are also some simple tips on when and how to wash hands before, during, and after preparing food, before and after caring for someone who is sick, before and after treating a cut or wound, after using the toilet, after blowing your nose, coughing, or sneezing, after touching an animal, animal feed, or animal waste, after touching garbage etc.

A patient who knows about his/her treatment can understand how important hand hygiene is. We need to engage patient in the whole process, and not only washing hands. This is still not feasible today as patients’ organisations are involved in very few occasions, such as hospital’s anniversary for instance, but not as a real partner in solution.

I have once heard that our priority is to advance the health interests of the European and global community. For this to happen, policy-makers and stakeholders need to understand that a proper relationship between patients and medical staff is the focal point to achieve success in this field.

My tips for professionals and patients:

  1. Wash hands properly even if you think it is too much
  2. Wash your hands before your patients ask you to do that
  3. Use the sanitizer when you leave the room in the hospital
  4. Teach your children, parents, friends to wash their hands
  5. Always carry a sanitizer in your bag

Our members in the spotlight: European Multiple Sclerosis Platform

Our members are our compass. That is why we have decided to honour them on our blog by featuring one of them each month. This time, we interviewed Claudiu Berbece, Communication Coordinator at the European Multiple Sclerosis Platform (EMSP), who provides an overview of his organisation in five short answers.

What’s on the top of your agenda?

In early 2015, we started making paid internships with important businesses available to young people with Multiple Sclerosis (MS) across Europe through our Believe and Achieve programme. We are looking for enthusiastic young MSers (18-35 year-old) to apply, and also for more ‘equal opportunities’ employers to join our initiative to boost employment for young people with MS.

Why does your organisation exist?

There are 700,000 people currently living with MS in Europe and only a few can claim to have proper access to treatments, care and employment. Our role is to advocate on their behalf, at EU level in relation to key decision-makers and at national level through our network of MS societies, for this negative status quo to be markedly improved.

What is your biggest achievement as an organisation?

Our biggest achievement is to be recognised as a representative voice of people living with MS in Europe. Alongside our involvement in EU healthcare policy, we implement active programmes to identify the needs of our constituency and address the many inequalities in the disease management.

What is for you the key benefit of your organisation’s involvement in EPF?

The key benefit lies in the guarantee of EPF’s unflinching commitment to empower European patients and uphold their best interests in relation to key stakeholders.

What’s the main misconception about your disease area?

One of the biggest misconceptions is that people with MS cannot succeed in the workplace because of their condition. We know for a fact that, with only minor adaptations to the work environment, they can bring added value to any business.

www.emsp.org