Soap store Lush organises public hand washing event in support of NHS campaign
Specialist soap retailer Lush is backing the local NHS in its bid to cut the transmission of viruses and infections in the community by holding a public hand washing day outside its Whitefriargate store this Thursday May 21 between 11am – 3pm.
Shoppers will be shown how to wash their hands properly to kill off up to 10-billion bacteria which can be present between your fingertip and your elbow, and each participant will be given a free sample of Lush soap as a reward.
Lush hopes to encourage children and adults to wash their hands more effectively and more frequently, and staff hope that if enough people take part they will be able to set a record for the highest number of hand-washes in one day.
Lush Manager Jill Rowley said the store was backing the NHS “Give Soap A Chance” Campaign for a number of reasons:
“Using soap properly is an issue dear to our hearts as a worldwide retailer of handmade cosmetics and soaps, but this is about much more than that.”
“Washing your hands is such a simple thing and yet we take it for granted, even knowing that it really can make a difference in cutting down on illnesses like sickness and diarrhoea and flu. Many people also have no idea that solid soap has more effective antibacterial properties than liquid soap and we are delighted to be working with the NHS.”
The Hull and East Yorkshire NHS already has a good record of tackling healthcare-associated infections within hospitals, but in March Hull And East Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust joined forces with NHS Hull, NHS East Riding Of Yorkshire, the Humber Mental Health Teaching Trust, the Hull and Goole Port Authority and local authorities to launch “Give Soap a Chance”, a campaign to spread the word on the importance of hand washing within the wider community.
Research shows that up to half of men and a quarter of women fail to wash their hands after going to the toilet. Last year there were 84 confirmed cases of Norovirus in Hull and 79 in the East Riding. There were also 24 outbreaks of diarrhoea and vomiting in Hull, with 325 people laid low.
Eileen Henderson, Assistant to Medical Director for Hull & East Yorkshire NHS Trust said: “We are encouraging local businesses to back our campaign and we are delighted that Lush has offered its support.”
“Jill and her staff are very passionate about using soap properly and we are very happy to have the their encouragement in making people realise just how important an issue this is.”
“Good hand hygiene is regarded as the single most cost-effective way of tackling infections spread by unclean hands. These include food poisoning and diarrhoea, viruses such as colds and flu, and more serious conditions such as MRSA. The more people who get involved in delivering this message the better, and we hope shoppers will fully support Lush on the day.”
