A report from the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control which looked at infections and antibiotic use in European hospitals in 2011-12 also reported on hospital indicators like the use of alcohol hand rub.

These other indicators are important because they are measures that help to keep the rate of hospital acquired infections low, which helps to counter resistance – because the fewer infections patients acquire, the fewer antibiotics are used, and the less resistance can develop.

The amount of alcohol hand rub used indicates how well hospital staff are disinfecting their hands and following hygiene procedures – the more hand rub used, the less chance infections have of spreading.

The European average alcohol hand rub consumption was 25.64 litres per 1,000 patient days.