Train the Trainer with Prof. Pittet in Malaysia and Japan

From the end of January 2024, Prof. Didier Pittet, the former Hospital Epidemiologist and Director of the Infection Control Program & World Health Organization (WHO) Collaborating Centre on Patient Safety, University of Geneva Hospitals and Faculty of Medicine, visited Malaysia and Japan to give lectures to healthcare workers. A brief report of these to visit is written below.

Seminars in Malaysia

A training program called “Clean Hospitals TTT” was organized in Malaysia on January 23rd and 24th. The program, also known as Train The Trainer (TTT) was established by the Infection Prevention and Control Division to train instructors on hand hygiene. This program improves hand hygiene in healthcare facilities based on the WHO Multimodal Hand Hygiene Improvement Strategy.

This time, the theme slightly shifted from hand hygiene to environmental hygiene. Approximately 160 healthcare workers from all over Malaysia gathered to acquire practical knowledge related to environmental hygiene for preventing healthcare-associated infections. The first day of the event featured lectures on the basics of environmental hygiene, information related to the HEHSAF (Healthcare Environmental Hygiene Self-Assessment Framework) released in September 2023, and case studies of healthcare facilities.

 During the seminar’s second day, attendees participated in lectures and practical training sessions. The seminar venue, originally an indoor badminton court, was transformed to simulate a hospital environment with simple equipment prepared to teach proper cleaning and provide a hands-on learning experience for participants. At the above photo, we can see students eagerly surrounding their assigned bed, looking forward to the lecture.

Seminars in Japan

On February 5th, Prof. Pittet came to Japan to hold a Train the Trainer Validation seminar, which includes a certification that qualifies you as a TTT instructor. Apart from himself, lectures included doctors and instructors from Malaysia, Switzerland, and Japan. These hand hygiene events have been held multiple times in Japan since 2020, and this time 35 healthcare workers from all over Japan participated. After the lecture, tests using video materials and a corresponding discussion were also conducted. Based on what was studied that day, TTT instructors will confirm the result of their research and provide feedback to other participants in approximately one month.

The following day on February 6th, SARAYA hosted the seminar “Hand Hygiene Step Up Seminar”, which focused on hand hygiene. With a venue with over 40 participants and 1,100 applicants for on-demand streaming, Prof. Pittet introduced Clean Hospitals, an initiative to not only improve hand hygiene but also to achieve truly clean hospitals. We also invited speakers from 10 Japanese hospitals to present their efforts and challenges based on the WHO Multimodal Hand Hygiene Improvement Strategy.

Also, while in Japan, Prof. Pittet visited some of the leading hospitals in West Japan. In each facility, he delivered lectures on hand hygiene and provided direct advice to the staff on site.

Participants on the tour shared their feedback with us, with some of their comments listed below:

“I've been working on hand hygiene activities for many years, but I feel like I still need advice from leaders like Prof. Pittet.”

“His visitation and seminars were good opportunities for me to get recognition for my past activities.”

“It's wonderful that there is a company that contributes to hand hygiene by collaborating with countries around the world. I was also impressed by SARAYA’s teamwork and internal culture.”

Prof. Pittet's lectures provide invaluable experiences for participants, which we hope they will use to further expand their knowledge of hand hygiene, not only in their own country  but all over the world.