ED staff going hands on and gloves off to reduce infections

PICTURED: Staff nurses Zoe Judge and Hannah Boyle have been instrumental in introducing a gloves off policy in the Emergency Department.

Morriston Hospital’s busy Emergency Department (ED) is taking a hands-on approach to reducing cross-infection risks.

Since April 1, staff have adopted a ‘gloves off’ policy following analysis which demonstrated that using gloves less often actually reduces the risk of infections as it encourages better hand hygiene.

Gloves are no substitute for thorough hand-washing, and in some cases gloves can lead staff to inadvertently touch more surfaces than they would if they were bare-handed - adding to infection risk.

The analysis revealed that gloves can be worn less often without compromising safety.

And the gloves off approach may also reduce staff sickness as their hands are less likely to suffer from rashes and other skin reactions with reduced glove wear.

Gloves will now only be worn by ED staff when they are dealing with blood, bodily fluids or hazardous chemicals.

PICTURED: Significantly reducing the use of gloves within ED will cut cross-infection risks and waste.

The findings, led by staff nurses Hannah Boyle and Zoe Judge, along with junior sister Nicola Lugg, have led to a department-wide change.

Hannah said: “Gloves are no substitute for handwashing or hand gel, and sometimes when gloves are worn people forget to wash in between, or touch lots of different surfaces with them. This increases the risk of spreading germs.

“For staff, there are statistics that show a reduction of glove use decreases dermatitis and skin-related infections or irritations. That means less time off work and less sickness because of skin conditions.

“Our report highlighted that 55 per cent of single-use gloves were used unnecessarily over the two-month period, and that is pretty significant when you look at that over the course of a year.

“As we get closer to the launch within ED, we’ll be educating staff and ensuring them that gloves only need to be worn in certain situations.”

As well as taking care of patients, the department is also keen on looking after the environment.

She added: “The reduction of single-use plastic gloves is also financially detrimental to the hospital and the environment.

“Within ED, we are trying to be more environmentally friendly and significantly reducing our single use gloves is part of that.

“This way we can feel more assured that we are not only looking after patients, but our peers and the planet.”

The project forecasts emissions savings of 652,019.5kg CO2e per year – the equivalent of insulating the lofts of 1,630 detached houses.

It is also set to make an annual saving of potentially £5,500.