Cleaning hands can save lives that's the message from Bermuda hospital officials who yesterday joined 11,500 other hospitals around the world to commit to a World Health Organisation (WHO) promotion on improving hygiene.

'SAVE LIVES Clean Your Hands' focuses on promoting effective hand hygiene and is designed to help cut down on hospital-acquired infections. The Bermuda Hospitals Board (BHB) says it has low levels compared to international standards with infection rates monitored each month.

The BHB infection control team is led by Linda Rothwell, who said: "It is important for us all to understand the importance of effective hand hygiene.

"Anyone coming into the hospital as a patient, visitor, vendor or BHB employee can spread potentially infectious bacteria or viruses. When you visit your loved one in hospital, for example, you should wash your hands before and after visiting. And if you are visiting multiple people, wash your hands in between each visit and then as you leave."

Judy Richardson, chief of nursing, quality and risk, said: "From MRSA to the H1N1 flu, hand washing kills infectious bacteria and viruses that make us ill, but it has to be effective hand washing. A few seconds under the tap will not get rid of all the potentially infectious organisms.

"WHO recommends that from the moment you turn on the tap it should take a total of 40 to 60 seconds to clean your hands with soap and water and 20 to 30 seconds for hand gel. We'll be putting up signs to show the correct technique and timing so that people can save lives by washing their hands properly."

As part of the campaign, BHB's senior management team joined with staff in signing a 6ft hand in the King Edward VII Memorial Hospital lobby yesterday, and providing educational materials.

CEO David Hill said: "We are committed to hand hygiene every day, but this international campaign is an opportunity to talk about its importance in stopping the spread of colds, flu and potentially life-threatening bacteria.

"Often handwashing is overlooked as it is such an easy and simple thing to do, but it saves lives. Patients need to know it is their right to ask if their health care provider or even visitor has cleaned his or her hands before they touch them. Whether you are a nurse, doctor or housekeeper at the hospital, or a mum, dad, or friend visiting a loved one, there's only one thing we want to spread today and that is the message that clean hands save lives."