Service evaluation of alcohol release door plates - an addition to hand hygiene.

We designed a service evaluation to examine the effect of installation of alcohol-releasing Surfaceskins doorplates on routine alcohol hand gel hygiene use by healthcare workers. There was an approximate doubling increase in healthcare worker use of alcohol hand gel dispensers following the installation of Surfaceskins doorplates in two operating theatre suites. We found no evidence that Surfaceskins doorplates replaced routine hand hygiene. We conclude that these devices represent a useful adjunct to routine hand hygiene practice in healthcare environments, and potentially in other settings (e.g. washrooms, restaurants) where frequent contact with doors could undermine infection prevention practice.