In 2007, the Office of the Auditor General released a report on the infection, prevention, and control (IPC) practices in British Columbia’s health care system. Given the importance of IPC, a second review was initiated in 2010 focusing on hand hygiene programs within the Ministry of Health and the regional health authorities. In 2010, the Provincial Hand Hygiene Working Group (PHHWG) was established and PICNet, in collaboration with health authorities, the BC Patient Safety Quality Council and the Ministry of Health were responsible for creating a sustainable, coordinated and evidence-informed provincial hand hygiene program as indicated by the Ministry of Health Communiques provided below. Additional policy and guidance were communicated in the years that followed.
| Date | Description | Communiques |
|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Provincial Hand Hygiene Working Group (PHHWG) established, tasked with developing a mandatory provincial hand hygiene program. | Not applicable |
| 2011 | First provincial hand hygiene quarterly compliance report is published by PICNet (Q1 Fiscal Year 2011/12) | Not applicable |
| Nov 2011 | The Ministry's Clinical Care Management releases guide providing methodology and guidance on the collection of hand hygiene compliance observations for the purpose of provincial reporting using a standardized Minimal Dataset. | 2011 CCM Guide |
| Jul 2012 | BC Best Practice Guidelines for Hand Hygiene are published | 2012 Guidelines |
| Aug 2012 | Ministry of Health Policy Communique to Health Authorities outlining minimum provincial expectations for hand hygiene programming in acute care facilities, including requirements for auditing, reporting and quality assurance. | 2012 Policy |
| 2013 | Replaces the 2012-04 Ministry of Health Policy Communique clarifying physical infrastricture requirements for hand hygiene. | 2013 Policy |
| Aug 2021 | Letter from Ministry of Health to the Health Authorities requesting resumption of hand hygiene assessment activities suspended with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. | 2021 MOH Letter |