The best infection prevention and control (IPC) practice is for all clinicians to be ‘bare below the elbows’ during their shift and this is the standard set by the Department of Health.
It is widely acknowledged that being bare below the elbows reduces the risk of transmitting infection. If you are not bare below the elbows, effective hand hygiene is limited.
The aim of being bare below the elbows is to remove sources of re-contamination and to ensure thorough hand hygiene.
This applies to ALL clinically trained/patient facing staff and applies whenever they are in uniform, this includes on a development course.
For more information, visit the IPC pages on East24.
Published 22nd November 2022