Cingles Info

Docs Spread Infection in German Hospitals: Expert
By Ned Stafford
FRANKFURT (Reuters Health) - Doctors are the prime culprits behind inadequate
hygiene in German hospitals, which results in up to 1 million patients each year
contracting needless infections, according to a German expert.
Virology Professor Manfred H. Wolff of the University of Witten/Herdecke issued
a press statement this week accusing doctors of being unschooled in hygiene,
saying that the biggest problem was insufficient hand disinfection before and
after patient visits.
While doctors are his prime target, he said that in some cases hospitals trying
to save money on cleaning costs end up with cleaning staff who don't follow
proper hygiene practices.
"Every nurse in Germany has more education in hygiene than doctors," Wolff told
Reuters Health on Thursday.
An expert on hospital hygiene issues, Wolff said he issued the statement after
receiving phone calls the past couple of months about infection problems at
hospitals, which he declined to identify.
One of his prime goals in issuing the statement, he said, is to try to make
German hospitals and doctors more aware that many infections could be stopped
with simple hand washing.
"It goes without saying that one should wash his hands after a visit to the
bathroom," he said. "And, likewise, one should disinfect hands before and after
visiting a patient."
He said that nurses, with their training in hygiene, should be given more
authority to enforce hygiene rules.
He said his other goal is to embolden patients to speak out when they feel a
doctor is practicing unhygienic behavior.
"Patients should remind doctors to disinfect their hands," he said