Infection Control Team tackles hospital acquired infections

8 October 2000

Patients at the West Suffolk Hospital will benefit from a campaign during Infection Control Week to promote good handwashing amongst all hospital staff.

Posters and roadshows are just some of the activities which will take place throughout the week (between October 16 and 22) to remind everyone that effective handwashing is probably the most important factor in preventing hospital acquired infections.

The first ever Infection Control Week has been declared by the Infection Control Nurses Association following the publication in February of a report, The Management and Control of Hospital Acquired Infection in Acute NHS Trusts in England, which called for the spread of good practice to reduce the level of infections.

Nationally, about 9% of inpatients - one in 11 - have a hospital acquired infection at any one time. equivalent to at least 100,000 infections a year. In the UK, 5,000 deaths (1% of all deaths) might be primarily attributable to hospital acquired infections and might be a substantial contributor in a further 15,000.

Patients who become infected have to spend longer in hospital and it can affect treatment of their original condition. It has been worked out that nationally the cost of treating hospital acquired infections may be as much as £1 billion a year.

Fran McGrath, Infection Control Nurse said “Infection control week is an excellent opportunity to remind all staff that effective handwashing is the best single means of preventing a significant number of patients from being infected. Also bacteria, the major cause of hospital acquired infections, do not survive on clean dry surfaces.

Posters with hard hitting messages will be strategically placed throughout the hospital where staff congregate highlighting the importance of handwashing and emphasing other messages related to bacterial transmission.

Bugs from staff’s finger dabs will be grown on agar plates to show how hands are not always as clean as they may seem. Practical handwashing demonstrations will run throughout the week.

Increasing resistance to antibiotics is a national as well as local problem.

"Bacterial antibiotic resistance has developed with every antibiotic known to man”, said Mr Julian Jolly, Laboratory Manager.

"Unfortunately people often expect antibiotic treatment for any infection, regardless of the cause, and it is not always appropriate. This over use of antibiotics has contributed to the development of resistant bugs. The hospital pharmacy team closely monitor antibiotic prescriptions and check that guidelines are being followed.”