Gloves off

The West Yorkshire Health and Care Partnership launches its Gloves off campaign today ahead of World Hand Hygiene Day 2024 on Sunday 5 May.

There are many situations where health and care workers should not wear disposable gloves. Using gloves inappropriately can lead to less effective hand hygiene which increases the risk of infections spreading. Health and care services in West Yorkshire want to cut down the number of disposable gloves being used unnecessarily.

The Gloves off campaign encourages health and care workers to stop using single use gloves when carrying out certain activities for non-infectious patients. The focus instead is on better hand hygiene before and after these activities. The overuse of gloves can create a false sense of security. Gloves pick up and transfer germs in exactly the same way as ungloved hands. Sometimes people forget this and don’t wash or sanitise their hands as often as they should.

The Partnership worked with members of West Yorkshire Voice to develop patient information for the campaign, including this Gloves off web page. The information explains that ‘Gloves off is ok’ and that’s why patients will see a reduction in the use of gloves in their care. It reassures patients that clean hands are safe, but that gloves will always be used if there is a risk of infection.

As well as improving patient safety, there are other benefits of using fewer gloves in health and care settings. The NHS alone uses 1.4 billion gloves every year and about a third of those are worn for activities where they are not needed. Reducing our glove use will lead to a greener NHS and help West Yorkshire meet its sustainability goals. The initiative supports staff to work in a more sustainable way and the money saved can be used more effectively elsewhere in health and care services.

In addition, using gloves only when its clinically necessary will reduce the incidence of health and care workers experiencing skin problems such as dermatitis. Skin problems are not always caused by a reaction to the glove itself but can be due to the hands sweating and the lack of air flow inside the glove.

Sarah Chadwick is the Partnership’s Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) Programme Manager. She said,
“The campaign has been designed to improve adherence to hand hygiene regulations through the reduction of inappropriate glove use across health and care settings. Gloves off aims to increase patient safety and supports the West Yorkshire ambition to tackle infection and antimicrobial resistance. We believe that removing gloves and increasing the focus on hand cleanliness will lead to a better and safer experience for both patients and staff.”