Healthcare experts in India have called for urgent reforms in hospital hygiene practices and specialised training for frontline cleaning workers following a study by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), which found that 38 per cent of intensive care unit (ICU) patients infected with drug-resistant organisms died within 14 days.
The experts made the call ahead of the October 20 World Clean Hospitals Day, warning that poor infection prevention and control practices could expose vulnerable patients to healthcare-associated infections and worsen the threat of antimicrobial resistance (AMR).
In a statement issued on Sunday, Dr. R. Nagaraja Naidu, Chairman of the Pragathi Rural Development Trust, said hospitals must strengthen sanitation standards, provide technical training for environmental hygiene workers and improve biomedical waste management to reduce the spread of infections.
Naidu stressed that rural healthcare facilities also needed standardised hygiene protocols, adequate equipment and continuous training to protect patients and prevent infectious disease outbreaks.
The campaign, themed “Empowered Teams, Reduced Risk,” brings together healthcare professionals and community-based organisations to promote the recognition of environmental hygiene as an essential component of infection prevention and patient safety.
Founder Chairman and Chief Neurosurgeon of BRAINS Super Specialty Hospital, Bengaluru, Dr. N.K. Venkataramana, said maintaining a sterile environment was particularly important in neurosurgery, where post-operative infections could have serious consequences.
He noted that specialised training for cleaning personnel could help protect patients from potentially fatal infections caused by multidrug-resistant organisms.
Similarly, Dr. Pavithra V., Chief Consultant in Neuroanaesthesia and Neuro Critical Care at BRAINS Super Specialty Hospital, emphasised the importance of proper surface disinfection, hand hygiene and monitoring environmental conditions in intensive care units.
According to her, strict adherence to infection prevention protocols was necessary to minimise cross-contamination and protect critically ill patients from environmental pathogens.
The experts outlined a three-pronged approach to improving hospital hygiene, including evidence-based technical training for environmental services personnel, greater recognition of their role in clinical safety and closer collaboration between cleaning teams and medical professionals during infection control audits.
The proposed measures include training workers on the correct use of cleaning chemicals, appropriate contact times, pathways through which pathogens spread and targeted disinfection procedures.
They also called for environmental hygiene workers to be integrated into hospital infection control teams, enabling them to report hazards and contribute to routine safety assessments.
The initiative further emphasises the need for coordinated monitoring to identify and eliminate sources of infection before drug-resistant organisms reach patients.
The campaign organisers maintained that the fight against antimicrobial resistance required more than the availability of antibiotics, arguing that effective sanitation, safe waste disposal and consistent hygiene practices were equally important in reducing healthcare-associated infections.
World Clean Hospitals Day serves as a platform for healthcare workers, infection control specialists, environmental hygiene personnel and hospital administrators to renew their commitment to safer healthcare environments.
As part of the observance, healthcare personnel are being encouraged to strengthen hand hygiene, improve environmental cleaning, ensure safe waste management and promptly report potential hazards.
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The organisers said educational posters for the campaign had been translated into 22 languages to support wider awareness and adoption of recommended hygiene practices.
The Pragathi Rural Development Trust, based in Krishnapuram, Tirupati district, Andhra Pradesh, works on rural healthcare access, sanitation and community empowerment, while BRAINS Super Specialty Hospital in Bengaluru provides specialised neurological and critical care services.
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