Tork supports World Hand Hygiene Day with healthcare training

Essity’s award-winning Tork VR Clean Hands Training can now be accessed free of charge via any electronic device.

Based on the World Health Organisation’s Five Moments for Hand Hygiene, the module previously required the use of a virtual reality headset. By creating a desktop version Essity has made it easier than ever for healthcare staff to access effective hand hygiene guidance.

The new training platform has been launched in time for World Hand Hygiene Day on May 5.

“Hand hygiene has always been crucial in healthcare and the pandemic has made it even more so,” said Essity’s Healthcare Marketing Director Tom Bergin. “Healthcare professionals are carrying out tremendous work to secure hand hygiene compliance to protect their patients and themselves. But they are also seeking ways to improve.

“By making Tork Clean Hands Training available on desktop and other platforms we are empowering healthcare professionals to train whenever and wherever they want.”

Tork Clean Hands Training invites users into a digital world where they are presented with a series of scenarios in which hand hygiene needs to be carried out. Developed in collaboration with behavioural scientists, university hospitals and hand hygiene experts, the course aims to provide hand hygiene guidance in an engaging and inspiring way.

Available in English, German, Polish, Dutch, French, Spanish and Arabic, the training was a category winner at the 2020 Amsterdam Innovation Awards.

According to a study, 80 per cent of healthcare professionals would like to improve their hand hygiene compliance1 but many find traditional training modules to be uninspiring. Six out of 10 said they would like hand hygiene to be given a higher priority in their unit, while 40 per cent called for better training.

“Any improvement to hand hygiene compliance has the potential to save lives, so we are proud to be making our training more accessible for healthcare professionals,” said Bergin. “And we are further supporting improved hand hygiene practices with our range of high-quality sanitiser systems for use in demanding environments.”

The theme of this year’s WHO World Hand Hygiene Day is: Seconds save lives – clean your hands!. The event focuses on the life-saving importance of clean hands in a global context.

According to WHO, appropriate hand hygiene reduces the risk of Covid-19 infections among healthcare workers and prevents up to 50 per cent of avoidable infections acquired during healthcare delivery.

Tork Clean Hands Training can be accessed free of charge at: www.tork.co.uk/cleanhands