National hand hygiene compliance report: 1 July to 31 October 2021

This report presents results for the period 1 July 2021 to 31 October 2021 including national hand hygiene compliance for:

• 20 district health boards (DHBs)
• 21 private surgical hospitals (PSHs).

Data was extracted on 4 November 2021.

Compliance is measured as part of the Health Quality & Safety Commission’s (the Commission’s) Hand Hygiene New Zealand (HHNZ) programme, one of its two current infection prevention and control (IPC) programmes. These targeted improvement initiatives aim to reduce the harm and cost of healthcare associated infections within Aotearoa New Zealand’s health and disability sector.

The HHNZ programme uses the World Health Organization’s ‘5 moments for hand hygiene’ framework to drive culture change and establish best hand hygiene practice for every patient, every time.

Achievements in this audit period

• National compliance for DHBs was 87.5 percent, compared with 86.2 percent in the previous audit period. National compliance for PSHs was 82.4 percent.
• Sixteen DHBs and 17 PSHs achieved at or above the national target of 80 percent compliance.
• Eleven DHBs and 17 PSHs met or were less than 100 moments short of the minimum requirement of moments.