Local hospitals fail to reach HSE hand hygiene compliance target

Portiuncula Hospital, Ballinasloe, Midland Regional Hospital Tullamore, Midland Regional Hospital Mullingar and Roscommon County Hospital all failed to meet the HSE hand hygiene compliance target which was set at 85% nationally this year. They also fell below the national compliance rate of 81.6%. Of the five hospitals Tullamore had the highest compliance rate at 80%, a significant increase from the last audit in October 2011 when their compliance rate was 67.1%. The compliance rate in Mullingar Hospital fell marginally in this period from 75.7% to 75.2% in the most recent report. Portiuncula and Roscommon County Hospital both had a hand hygiene compliance rate of 73.3% in the recent audit, which took place in June/July 2012. Both hospitals had improved compliance from the October 2011 audit and significant increase from the previous audit in June 2011 where Portiuncula Hospital had a compliance rate of 56.7% and Roscommon Hospital had a compliance rate of 63.6%. According to these latest figures from the HSE's Health Protection Surveillance Centre which audited 43 HSE and 2 private hospitals, Wexford General Hospital has the worst hand hygiene compliance rate in the country,