How will you prevent Hospital acquired infection in your 300 bedded corporate hospital?
Answers
On this page:
What are healthcare associated infections?
Susceptibility to healthcare associated infection
Risk factors for acquiring an HAI
Types of healthcare associated infection
Preventing healthcare associated infections
During your hospital stay
What to expect if you get an infection in hospital
What to do if you are unhappy with your healthcare
Where to get help
What are healthcare associated infections?
An infection is a disease caused by micro-organisms such as bacteria, viruses, fungi, or parasites. These micro-organisms are also called ‘bugs’ or ‘germs’.
Healthcare associated infections (HAIs) are infections that people catch when they are receiving care in a healthcare facility – for example, in hospital, at a GP surgery, in a nursing home, or even at home. Bacteria are the most common cause of HAIs.
HAIs occur at a cost to the patient and the community because they cause:
illness to the patient
a longer stay in hospital
a longer recovery time
costs associated with a longer stay in hospital and longer recovery time.
All healthcare facilities should have infection control procedures and policies, and staff should take every precaution to avoid spreading infection. However, the risk of infection can never be completely eliminated and some people have a higher risk of acquiring an infection than others.
Many types of infection can be picked up during healthcare including wound, bloodstream, urinary tract and chest infections.
There are things you can do before and during your treatment that will help reduce the chance of picking up an infection.
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Susceptibility to healthcare associated infection
All people admitted to hospital are at some risk of contracting an HAI. If you are very sick or have had surgery, you have an increased risk. Some people are more vulnerable than others, including:
premature babies
very sick children
elderly people
frail people
people with certain medical conditions, such as diabetes
people with low immunity – such as people with diseases that compromise their immune system or people who are being treated with chemotherapy or steroids.
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Risk factors for acquiring an HAI
There are other risk factors that may increase your risk of acquiring an HAI. These include:
increased length of stay – a long hospital stay can increase your risk of HAI, for example, if you are admitted to hospital for complex or multiple illnesses
surgical procedures – the length and type of surgery can increase the risk
hand hygiene techniques – inadequate hand hygiene practices by hospital staff and patients may increase your risk
invasive procedures – some procedures that bypass the body’s normal protective layer, the skin, can introduce infection into the body – for example, insertion of urinary catheters, IV cannulas, respiratory equipment and drain tubes
non-intact skin – wounds, incisions (surgical cuts), burns and ulcers are more prone to infection than intact skin.
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Types of healthcare associated infection
The most common types of infection acquired in hospitals are:
bloodstream infection
urinary tract infection (UTI)
wound infection
pneumonia (lung infection).
Infections are treated with antibiotics and usually respond well. Occasionally, infections can be serious and life threatening. Some bacteria are hard to treat because they are resistant to standard antibiotics. These bacteria are sometimes called ‘superbugs’.
Some examples of ‘superbugs’ are:
methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus – often called ‘golden staph’ or MRSA
vancomycin resistant Enterococcus – also referred to as VRE
carbapenemase-producing Enterobacteriaceae – also referred to as CPE.
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Preventing healthcare associated infections
Healthcare workers use various well established procedures to help prevent infections, including:
infection control procedures and policies
correct and frequent hand hygiene measures by all staff and patients
keeping the healthcare environment and equipment clean
complying with standard sterile techniques when performing surgery, caring for wounds or inserting and caring for medical devices such as intravenous cannulas and urinary catheters
using antibiotics appropriately to prevent and treat infections.