Infection Control Prevention

| UNIT 4222- 264 THE PRINCIPLES OF INFECTION PREVENTION AND CONTROL | | | |

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

Not Washing hands frequently especially after dealing with any bodily fluids. Staff not staying at home if they are sick. Use a tissue, or cough and sneeze into your arm, not your hand. Turn away from other people. Open wounds not being covered especially on the hands. The incorrect use of PPE or the none use of PPE. Sharing personal items between each other. Incorrect food prep and storage.

In this report I will discuss the policy and procedures at a nursing home. I will be specifically looking at infection control during the course of a medication round.

More than one million of Healthcare associated infections happen across healthcare settings every year, or 1 in 20 people admitted to any healthcare setting (Healthy people 2020, 2013). HAIs are the most common complication seen in hospitalized patients. HAIs increase morbidity, mortality, healthcare costs, and length of stay even after adjustment for the main underlying illness. According to the Center for Diseases Control (CDC, April 2013) 5 to 10% of patients admitted to acute-care hospitals, or long-term care facilities approximately 2 million patients per year in the United States acquire a nosocomial infection. At least 90,000 deaths per year are a result of HAIs, making it the fifth leading cause of death in acute-care hospitals. These

Consequently, by necessary control measures such as high standard of hand hygiene techniques, wearing proper PPE, isolation of the infected resident, safe handling of the needles, proper waste disposal, environmental cleaning and proper disinfecting (Cole, M.,2012, Crisp & Taylor, 2013, Nazarko, L Cole, M.,2012, Green. D, 2015, NHMRC).Furthermore, the staff play an important role in this chain of infection so it is vital to ensure with the precaution and measures are followed. Organize for the possibility of early detection, precaution and necessary treatment to challenge the outbreak. Finally, It is possible to reduce the rate of infection and duration by breaking the chain of

Healthcare associated infections (HAIs) which is also known as Nosocomial infection is defined as infection due to hospital care/ hospital environment and or cross infection from other patient, which the patient was not carrying before getting admitted to the hospital. Infection that the patient acquires after 48 hours of the admission in the hospital from its environment, within 3 days of hospital discharge or within 30 days of post-surgery discharge is HAIs. Patient who are more susceptible to HAIs are immunocompromised patient, patient admitted to ICU, post-surgical patient, infant and elderly population to name a few. Predominantly occurring HAIs are lower respiratory tract infection (LRTI), urinary tract infection(UTI), surgical site infection

ReferencesBarrett , S. P. (2005). What's new in infection control? Medicine Publishing Company,33(3), i-iii. Retrieved July 5, 2006, from http://www.atyponlink.com/MPC/doi/abs/10.1383/medc.2005.33.3.iBebbington, A., Parkin, P.A., Chichester, L. J., & Kubiak, E. M. (2003). Patients'case notes: look but don't touch. Journal of Hospital Infection. 55, (4).

Three basic protocols were formulated. These protocols includes, cohorting all ill residents, immediate cessation of work when staff became ill, strict hand hygiene, and cleaning of toilets three times a day. The second protocol suggested cleaning with disinfection measures, disinfection with two hundred and fifty parts per million of chlorine, and recovered staff taking care of ill residents. The final protocol included specific measures of disinfection with one thousand parts per million chlorine, prevention contact between wards, ill staff staying home until forty-eight to seventy-two hours following recovery and the use of face masks when in contact with vomit (). Theses interventions were evaluated by giving staff and residents a questionnaire that included symptoms, duration of illness, and contact with other patients. Next, all affected wards received an evaluation questionnaire about the total number of residents and staff, and the implementation of the different protocol measures during the outbreak. Protocols had to be carried out until seven days after recovery of the last

Every day, people admit themselves to a healthcare facility with hopes of improving their health. Whether for a major surgery or just for a little cough patients are being subjected to infections at the hands of the very people that are supposed to be helping them.Healthy People 2020 (2016) reports “At any one time in the United States, 1 out of every 25 hospitalized patients are affected by an HAI.” This is not and should never be an acceptable number in this day and age of technology and information. Patients can develop HAI’s can be acquired through interaction with employees, catheter associated infections, surgical sites, bloodstream through central lines, and pneumonia associated with ventilators. Healthcare-acquired infections not only affect the patient, but they affect the staff as well as the hospital as a whole. The safety of patients is an integral part of ensuring quality care and the patient leaving in a better condition than they came. Patient safety can be provided by finding ways to reduce healthcare-acquired infections, explaining the effects of these infections on the patient and hospital, and increasing hand hygiene and education with patients as well as staff.

. Bolyard EA, Tablan OC, Williams WW, Pearson ML, Shapiro CN, Deitchman SD, Hospital Infection Control Practices Advisory Committee (HICPAC). Guideline for infection control in healthcare personnel, 1998. Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol 1998;19:407–63

Health care providers particularly phlebotomists are the main subject of this study, as to what possible bacteria is known when they communicate with their patients. World Health Organization (WHO) suggests that HAIs (also known as nosocomial infections) are universal, affecting healthcare systems in every country. These are commonly seen in a setting where it is easily transmitted like in the hospitals and healthcare facilities. (Public Health Agency of Canada,

To prevent and control an infection, we “as healthcare providers; nursing homes staff” have to break the cycle of infection by putting proper practices in place. A part of the cycle is the

Attached is the Guidelines and Infection Control Policy. Please read over these carefully, as we want to be cautious and respectful of the patients and families staying at the House.