Healthcare Related Infections

Washing your hands before and after doing individual jobs, using the correct PPE for the task you are carrying out, Gloves, Aprons etc. This can stop the spread of fluids and germs which can be carried on clothes. Simply covering your mouth when coughing and sneezing then washing your hands will stop the spread of possible infection. Many surfaces can hold germs and bacteria, so even after touching any surfaces hands should be washed or gloves worn where ever possible.

Through medical advances in technology and practice, nurses have been afforded the opportunity to provide lifesaving care to patients. However, this lifesaving care comes with the risk of healthcare-associated infections (HAIs). Generally speaking, HAIs are infections directly related with the delivery of healthcare and are often caused by viral, bacterial or

Healthcare acquired infections (HAI) not only contribute to exorbitant amounts of financial burden on the healthcare system but also attribute to staggering numbers of

Implementation of patient care practices for infection control is the role of the nursing staff. Nurses are responsible for maintaining hygiene, consistent with hospital policies and good nursing practice on the ward and monitoring aseptic techniques, including hand-washing and use of isolation. It is also in their scope of practice to promptly report to the attending physician any evidence of infection in patients under the nurse’s care and initiating patient isolation and ordering culture specimens from any patient showing signs of a communicable disease, when the physician is not immediately available. Limiting patient exposure to infections from visitors, hospital staff, other patients, or equipment used for diagnosis or treatment and maintaining

The standard precautions are implemented at all times to decrease the risk of transmitting infectious agents. Assuming that all patients could carry an infection, this minimises the potential spread of HAI’s. These standard precautions include routine hand hygiene, the use of personal protective equipment, safe handling and disposure of sharps and routine environmental cleaning.4,5 In this situation, where blood is present, this is considered a biohazard. Hand hygiene must be performed before touching the patient, before and after any procedures or exposure to bodily substances and after touching the patient or any of the patient’s surroundings. The use of Personal protective equipment should be used when attending to the patient. This includes protective eye wear, a surgical mask and an apron for protection from any splashes or sprays of blood generated by the patient. Gloves should also be worn for single use only when coming in contact with open skin and bodily fluids. To minimise the spread of blood, the bystander with visibly soiled hands should also be advised to thoroughly clean them with soap and

Hospital acquired infections (HAI) will begin to display signs and symptoms within 48 hours. In order to treat the infections, physicians need to diagnostic tools quickly. The manufacturer of new diagnostic test makers, Kalorama Information stated last year that the world demand for testing and treatment of HAI will be over 10 billion dollars by the year 2015, increasing from 9 billion dollars in 2010. Kalorama also stated that HAI has a 5% infection rate of 40 million hospital visits a year, causing 100,000 deaths in the U.S. annually (Kalorama Information, July 14, 2011). Early diagnosis will improve the patient's outcome and decrease the chance of death. According to Kalorama, 20-30% of the HAI can be prevented by the simple use of better hand washing and cross contamination avoidance although the others need more intensive changes such as hospital ventilation systems and using more disposable supplies (Kalorama Information, p. 113) .

Health Care providers must implement infection control at all times. This is essential in order to avoid any sources of contamination that would put patients at risk for infection as well as all hospital personnel. There are two important aseptic techniques: Medical Asepsis, and Surgical Asepsis. The first one includes hand hygiene, use of gloves, masks, gowns and routine

Infection control practices and procedures should be followed at all times to control infections and prevent them from spreading. Most infection control policies include: wearing the appropriate personal protective equipment for each situation, carrying out risk assessment to reduce risk of exposure to infections for all individuals, disposing of waste properly, and hand hygiene before and after any physical contact. By following these policies in residential care settings, residents are less likely to contract an

Wash your hands and put on sterile gloves. Wearing gloves are very important in the health care field, there are used to protect you and the patient from bacteria. The sterile gloves help ensure that bacteria do not get into the urethra and the patient bodily fluids do not come into contact with your hands.

As a hospital, quality care should be a priority for patients that are going to be treated for a sickness, or any type of procedure that is going to take place. A lot of times a patient gets an infection while they were at the hospital, on top of being treated for what they original came in for. Health facilities should be environments of healing, which they are, but they also have tons of various types of germs and infections, which grasp onto individuals that have weak immune systems/are sick. Some infections that are at hospitals are Tuberculosis, VRE, VAP, C-Diff, UTI, and MRSA. Preventive measures to stop the spread of the infections is lacking tremendously in the work and aim to provide safety for all patient’s health. The work

Hospital acquired infections are one of the most common complications of care in the hospital setting. Hospital acquired infections are infections that patients acquired during the stay in the hospital. These infections can cause an increase number of days the patients stay in the hospital. Hospital acquired infections makes the patients worse or even causes death. “In the USA alone, hospital acquired infections cause about 1.7 million infections and 99,000 deaths per year”(secondary).

of this policy is to reduce the risk of infection transmission both to and from

The Organization for Safety, Asepsis and Prevention (OSAP) state that surgical mask with goggles, and solid side shield, and face shield are crucial for safety. OSAP also states, “it would be best to assume that in those situations where a face shield is needed to protect against splash or splatter of fluids a mask would also be indicated”. Wearing gowns and gloves to avoid contamination with blood, saliva, and any other infectious fluids is also crucial for safety. OSAP mentions that “Adequate handwashing will remove or inhibit both transient and resident organisms”. For this reason, clinicians must wash their hand appropriately to avoid transmit the organisms that cause

Infection control within a healthcare facility is the prevention of the spread of many microorganisms from patient to patient, patient to a member of staff and also from the staff member to the patient that are in there care. The World Health Organisation have defined healthcare associated infections as an infection occurring in a patient in a hospital or other healthcare facility in whom the infection was not present or incubating at the time of admission. Every healthcare facility from hospitals to general practitioners office should have a designated member of staff or a team of people who ensure that the infection control procedures are abided by and adhered to at all times in order to protect both staff and patients. More than 300,000 people each year are affected by a healthcare associated infection and the cost of treatment for these patients is over £3,000 and there is also the cost of treatment after discharge.

Day after day, pPatients who are being treated for one an illness or injury often develop infections that are unrelated to their original diagnoses. Such infections are commonly referred to as healthcare-associated infections (HAIs). HAIs are infections linked with the delivery of care in hospitals and other health care facilities. The medical, financial, and emotional effects of these infections can be destructive, and overwhelming and possibly deadly to the patients, as well as their caregivers, families, and loved -ones, as well as potentially deadly for affected patients.