417 participants took part in the relay as GCU researchers, lecturers and students gathered to raise awareness of hand hygiene as a means of preventing infections.
The World Record was cracked on November 18, 2015, European Antibiotic Awareness Day, an annual European public-health initiative to raise awareness about the threat to public health of antibiotic resistance and the importance of prudent antibiotic use.
GCU undertook the challenge with Professor Fiona McQueen, Scotland’s Chief Nursing Officer, and Glasgow City Council’s Liz Cameron in attendance.
GCU’s Safeguarding Health through Infection Prevention researchers have reduced avoidable infections in healthcare in the UK and Europe by stimulating policy debate and investment in new healthcare practice and influencing policy decisions, evidence guidelines, and educational practices.
GCU is currently conducting research on antimicrobial stewardship, antimicrobial resistance and evidence for infection prevention and control. A recent study by the research group on hand-hygiene technique provides the first evidence for the WHO six-step hand-hygiene technique being used in this World Record relay.
Professor of Infection Prevention Jacqui Reilly said: “Hand hygiene is one of the most important measures we can all use to prevent infection. By reducing these infections we can reserve the use of antibiotics to those infections which cannot be prevented and support the control of antimicrobial resistance.”
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