Decontamination in primary care dental practices - Gov.uk

6 General hygiene principles6 General hygiene principlesHand hygiene6.1 The term hand hygiene covers not only handwashing,but also alternative and additionalmeasures such as hand disinfection usingantibacterial-based hand-rubs/gels.6.2 Hand hygiene is crucial in preventing the spreadof infection and the recontamination of surgicalinstruments and devices. Clean hands are anessential counterpart to the use of gloves. Neithermeasure is a substitute for the other.6.3 As part of essential quality requirements, trainingin hand hygiene should be part of staff inductionand be provided to all relevant staff within dentalpractices periodically throughout the year.6.4 Hand hygiene should be practised at the followingkey stages in the decontamination process so as tominimise the risk of contamination:• before and after each treatment session;• before and after the removal of PPE;• following the washing of dental instruments;• before contact with instruments that havebeen steam-sterilized (whether or not theseinstruments are wrapped);• after cleaning or maintaining decontaminationdevices used on dental instruments;• at the completion of decontamination work.6.5 Mild soap should be used when washing hands. Barsoap should not be used. Apply the liquid soap towet hands to reduce the risk of irritation, andperform hand-washing under running water.Ordinarily, the hand-wash rubbing action shouldbe maintained for about 15 seconds. After theexercise, the hands should be visibly clean. Wherethis is not the case, the hand hygiene procedureshould be repeated.Drying of hands6.6 Effective drying of hands after washing isimportant because wet surfaces transferSkin caremicroorganisms more easily than when they aredry, and inadequately dried hands are prone to skindamage. To prevent recontamination of washedhands, disposable paper towels should be used.6.7 Hand cream, preferably water-based, should beused to avoid chapped or cracking skin. Communaljars of hand cream are not desirable as the contentsmay become contaminated and subsequentlybecome an infection risk. Ideally, wall-mountedhand-cream dispensers with disposable cartridgesshould be used. Any staff that develop eczema,dermatitis or any other skin condition should seekadvice from their occupational health departmentor general practitioner (GP) as soon as possible.6.8 Fingernails should be kept clean, short and smooth.When viewed from the palm side, no nail shouldbe visible beyond the fingertip. Staff undertakingdental procedures should not wear nail varnish andfalse fingernails.6.9 Rings, bracelets and wristwatches should not beworn by staff undertaking clinical procedures. Staffshould remove rings, bracelets and wristwatchesprior to carrying out hand hygiene. A weddingring is permitted but the skin beneath it should bewashed and dried thoroughly, and it is preferableto remove the ring prior to carrying out dentalprocedures.Facilities and procedures for hand-washing6.10 In accordance with the advice above, a separatewash-hand basin should be provided:• The basin should not have a plug or an overflowand be fitted with a remote running trap (thatis, the U-bend is not directly under theplughole).• It should have a sensor-operated or leveroperatedmixer tap.• Taps should not discharge directly into thedrain aperture as this might generate aerosols.33