UK: Golden Poo awards serve as handwashing reminder for dentists and patients

13.oct.09
Dentistry.co.uk

With the release of the updated HTM 01-05 government guidelines and also
the outbreak of swine flu H1N1 virus, the risk of cross infection in the
dental practice is big news.
And this Thursday (15 October) Global Handwashing Day will be flagging
up the importance of good hand hygiene with an unusual event - the
Golden Poo awards.
The Golden Poo awards is one of a number of UK activities taking place
on Thursday in support of Global Handwashing Day - a campaign across
five continents, which aims to mobilise millions of people to wash their
hands with soap.
Handwashing with soap is among the most effective and inexpensive ways
of preventing diarrhoeal diseases and pneumonia, which together are
responsible for the deaths of more than 3.5 million children every year
in the developing world.
Handwashing with soap is equally important in the UK, yet few people
wash their hands at critical moments - after going to the toilet,
cleaning a child, or before preparing or eating food.
This red-carpet event is being held at the Prince Charles cinmea in
London's West End and is hosted by celebrity medic and comedian Dr Phil
Hammond.
The show will feature six short animated films about hygiene and the
taboo subject of 'poo'. An audience vote will decide the Number One and
Number Two films, and the winning artists will be presented with coveted
Golden Poo awards!
The selected films have been short-listed from a competition set up by
PooP Creative and The London International Animation Festival.
In addition, two International Golden Poo awards will also be awarded -
Hygiene Champion and Sanitation Champion - to celebrate those who have
made outstanding contributions to improving sanitation and good hygiene
practice around the world.
Dr Val Curtis, director of the hygiene centre at the London School of
Hygiene and Tropical Medicine said: 'We need to talk about poo. Poo
shouldn't be taboo because poo kills 5,000 children a day. The Golden
Poo awards recognises those heroes who fight poo on a daily basis in
their work promoting hygiene and sanitation around the world.'
For more details, visit www.globalhandwashingday.org.uk