Now wash your hands

Many dentists and practice managers who think that rigorous infection control procedures are only required to comply with HTM01-05 and CQC regulations are missing an important public relations message that can help them promote the positive aspects of dentistry.

With reports that Norovirus is continuing to spread rampantly through the country, the public is avidly seeking reassurance on the subject of infection control. So, although an unpleasant event for those who contract the virus, its proliferation gives us an ideal opportunity to re-visit the important area of hand hygiene.

Figures released by the Health Protection Agency for the week up to January 6, 2013 showed that so far this winter, 63 per cent more people have been affected by Norovirus than at the same stage of winter 2011/12, with predictions that this number will continue to rise following the Christmas and New Year break.

As organisations operating within the healthcare environment, and ones where people gather together in a relatively confined space for a period of time, it is incumbent on dental practices to be as rigorous as possible in limiting the potential for contracting the virus.