Hand hygiene is one of the most important ways to prevent the spread of infection in healthcare settings. It applies to everyone—healthcare workers, patients, and visitors—at every encounter.
There is clear and consistent evidence linking proper hand hygiene to reduced transmission of harmful microorganisms. Quite simply, clean hands save lives.
Infection Prevention and Control (IPAC) guidelines identify hand hygiene as the single most effective practice for preventing the spread of infection in healthcare. Because of its importance, Health Quality Ontario measures and publicly reports on hand hygiene compliance in hospitals across the province.
This indicator tracks how often healthcare providers follow best practices—either washing hands with soap and water or using alcohol-based hand sanitizer. Compliance is measured through direct observation or electronic monitoring, and higher percentages reflect better performance.
Across Ontario, hospitals reported an average compliance rate of 85.8% in 2025.
Local results, however, tell a more uneven story.
- At Quinte Health’s Belleville site, compliance has generally hovered in the mid-80% range but dropped significantly to 62.2% in 2022, before recovering to 79% in 2024. Data was not reported for the most recent year.
- At Kingston General Hospital, part of Kingston Health Sciences Centre, compliance was once well above the provincial average at 93.8% in 2018–19. However, rates have declined steadily over the past four years, reaching a low of 65.7%.
Hand hygiene is a shared responsibility.
If you notice a missed step while receiving care,
you have the right to speak up. A simple, respectful reminder can
help protect not only you, but other patients as well.
What is being measured?
Hand hygiene compliance is based on the 4 Moments for Hand Hygiene, an infection prevention and control model developed in Ontario and adapted from the World Health Organization’s 5 Moments framework.
The model focuses on cleaning hands at key points to protect both patients and healthcare workers:
- Before initial patient contact
Clean your hands before touching a patient or their immediate environment. - Before an aseptic procedure
Clean your hands before procedures such as dressing changes or administering medication. - After body fluid exposure risk
Clean your hands immediately after exposure to bodily fluids and after removing gloves. - After patient contact
Clean your hands after touching a patient or their surroundings, and when leaving the care area.
What you can do
Hand hygiene is a shared responsibility.
If you notice a missed step while receiving care, you have the right to speak up. A simple, respectful reminder can help protect not only you, but other patients as well.
Healthcare providers work in fast-paced environments and perform hand hygiene many times during a shift. While missed moments can happen, awareness and communication are key to improving safety.
If you are visiting a hospital, use the hand sanitizer stations provided and clean your hands often during your visit.
By staying aware and engaged, you help create a safer environment for everyone.
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