P123 The effect of having volunteers and face masks present at hospital entrances on the wearing of face masks and hand washing

Abstract

BackgroundThe spread of COVID-19 has put inpatients lives at risk and increased stress on hospital. Simple, cost effective measures such as mask wearing and hand hygiene have been shown to reduce the spread of droplet borne viruses. Compliance with these measures is variable and when performed improperly, reduce efficacy.ObjectiveIn this paper we aim to determine whether the provision of masks at hospital entrances and the use of volunteers to ensure correct mask wearing and hand hygiene can improve compliance with infection prevention measures for COVID-19.MethodVisitor and staff compliance with mask wearing and hand hygiene measures were observed with and without the presence of masks and volunteers at hospital entrances at a District General Hospital.ResultsA total of 519 people were observed entering the hospital. Mask wearing went from 71% to 99% (P = <0.001) with the addition of volunteers. Provision of masks increased mask wearing from 56% to 97% (P = <0.001). Hand hygiene was improved from 9% to 84% (P = <0.001) with the presence of volunteers.DiscussionA statistically significant improvement in hand hygiene and correct mask wearing was seen with both the presence of volunteers at hospital entrances and with the provision of masks. This is a relatively small study with heterogenous cohorts of staff and visitors. However, these results appear to indicate that use of volunteers and provision of masks at entrances may improve the compliance with the measures that been shown to reduce the in-hospital transmission of COVID-19.