BMJ 1999;318:328 ( 30 January )

Letters

Wrist watches must be removed before washing hands

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

EDITOR---The select committee on science and technology's seventh report states that "Adequate and appropriate hand washing is well recognised as the single most important measure in infection control."1 All doctors and nurses who have a role in infection control will have been disappointed to see the illustration in the BMJ of a lumbar puncture2 being performed by a doctor who cannot have washed her hands adequately because she is still wearing her wrist watch.

Wearing a wrist watch prevents proper hand washing, which should always be done before an aseptic procedure such as a lumbar puncture. Infection control manuals in our healthcare trust and throughout the country include removing wrist watches and rolling up the sleeves as the first stage of hand washing. We emphasise the importance of removing wrist watches with a poster on the wards depicting the lower bacterial counts achieved by following this policy (figure).

J C Hartley, Specialist registrar. 
A D Mackay, Senior registrar. 
G M Scott, Consultant.  .
Department of Clinical Microbiology, University College London Hospitals, London WC1E 6DB

  1. House of Lords Select Committee on Science and Technology. Seventh report. London: Stationery Office , 1998.
  2. Berger A. Amyloid clearly implicated in Alzheimer's disease. BMJ 1998; 317: 102[Free Full Text]. (11 July.)

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