The public can now access statistics on how often health workers clean their hands and patients get ill from the hospital-acquired C. difficile. The province's Health and Wellness Minister announced the new public reports during an announcement Wednesday at the regional hospital in Bridgewater. The reports indicate South Shore Health has the top hand-washing practices in the province for the first three months of this year. The health authority has an 87 per cent hand-washing rate before patient contact and a 92 per cent mark afterwards. President and CEO, Dr. Peter Vaughan, says they need to continue working towards their goal of 100 per cent.South Shore Health is also above the provincial average of C. difficile for the same time period. The data says five people out of 10,000 patients contracted the bacteria, while the province averages about three. The Nova Scotia government passed law in May 2012 called the Patient Safety Act that requires hospitals to collect information called Patient Safety Indicators and report results to Department of Health and Wellness and the public. The findings can be found on the department's website.
