In conjunction with this year’s International Nurses’ Day, the Malaysian Rubber Council organised the Glove Awareness Programme in an effort to bring attention to unsung heroes.
With the theme ‘Not All Heroes Wear Capes, Some Wear Gloves’, the objective of the programme was to educate & raise awareness on the importance of using gloves in the healthcare environment to reduce and control the spread of infectious diseases.
More than 80 nurses from government hospitals in Klang Valley, Putrajaya, Selayang, Serdang, Shah Alam, Klang, and University Malaya Medical Centre participated in gaining valuable knowledge-sharing sessions by Dr. Eng Aik Hwee, a Technical Trainer with over 30 years of experience in rubber and latex research. Dr Eng felt it is important for healthcare workers to recognize gloves as a key personal protective equipment not only for their safety but also for better patient care.
He added that gloves are an integral part of infection control and preventive measures to protect healthcare workers from exposure to blood, body fluids, and other potentially infectious materials. For that reason, the use of gloves among healthcare workers is common in many developed countries.
Accordingly, MRC says it is estimated that the consumption of gloves per capita in the USA is approximately 80 pairs per year. In the European Union, the consumption of gloves per capita was estimated to be around 50 pairs whereas, in Malaysia, the consumption of gloves per capita is estimated to be only 9 pairs.
MRC added that while it is low compared to other developed countries, it believes that glove usage has been increasing, following greater awareness of the importance of gloves in preventing the spread of infectious diseases mainly in the hospital environment, especially during the breakout of the COVID-19 virus that hit the world in 2020.
The importance of hand hygiene in healthcare facilities was also highlighted by Matron Anny Mary, Deputy Director of the Nursing Division from the Ministry of Health (MOH) Malaysia through her 30 years of experience in the nursing field, both clinical practice and nursing education.
‘Mental Wellbeing: You vs You’ by Kevin Zahri, a renowned Health and Fitness Celebrity are also among the topics featured in this programme and it is critical to address this issue as the nurses have been selflessly serving the nation to combat the COVID-19 pandemic.
“This programme is part of our efforts to promote the utilization of medical gloves to help prevent the spread of infectious diseases. MRC has been organising Glove Awareness Programs (GAP) consistently, in Malaysia as well as other countries”, said Nor Hizwan Ahmad, CEO of MRC.
“We hope that GAP has enlightened our nurses today with new knowledge and benefits in every possible way as they continue to serve the nation with their services. Our utmost gratitude towards their selfless contributions towards combating COVID-19 and many other diseases”, Hizwan added.
