Infection Prevention and Control is Everyone’s Business
The Infection Prevention and Control Team for the Primary Care Trust are based at West Park Hospital. It is their job to ensure that Infection Prevention and Control is everyone’s responsibility and that premises are clean and staff are well trained.
The Infection Prevention and Control Team for the PCT provide infection prevention advice through a City –wide care economy strategy. We work closely with our colleagues at the Acute Hospital and Local Authority to ensure patients receive clean, safe care. This is achieved through a comprehensive work programme that covers our provider and commissioned services. The Infection Prevention and Control Team carry out surveillance of infections and conduct root cause analysis investigations on MRSA bacteraemia and Clostridium difficile to follow the patient’s journey and establish the cause. This enables us to make any changes and ensure best practice guidance is being followed. The IPCT have an annual audit programme and provide education and training for staff annually. The team also provide outbreak management, operate an MRSA screening programme and are currently running a PREVENT care homes audit and training programme.
Currently Wolverhampton Care economy have targets set by the Strategic Health Authority for year on year reductions in MRSA bacteraemia and Clostridium difficile.
Wolverhampton is below trajectory for both MRSA bacteraemia and Clostridium difficile targets and has shown a reduction in both in the past year. The PCT aim is to prevent all avoidable infections.
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Target 15 Cases 3 -Below Trajectory
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Targets for 2010-11 for the Care Economy (Primary Care Trust / Royal Wolverhampton Hospitals Trust)
New Targets have been set to further reduce infections:
- PCT target for MRSA bacteraemia this year is 7. A separate target for RWHT has been set at 4.
- Care Economy target for Clostridium difficile 176 cases, with a National stretch target of 135 and a Local stretch target of 119
Clean Your Hands Campaign
The Cleanyourhands campaign is a hand hygiene campaign that raises the profile of hand washing for staff and patients through posters, signs and activity. The campaign is in its second year in the PCT and activity is being carried out across the PCT sites with demonstrations and posters reminding staff, patients and visitors to wash their hands. You may remember seeing us at the stand at the City Show in July. Please remember as a patient that it is okay to ask if any staff do forget to wash their hands and that you do visit the gel point as you enter and leave West Park Hospital. Primary Schools are also being visited and the children being given a Glitter-bug session and a children’s leaflet together with a Bertie bug to remind them to wash their hands.
We are in the midst of a swine flu pandemic so respiratory hygiene is very important. Please remember Catch it, Bin it, Kill it is our message to you all.
For more information contact the Infection Prevention and Control Team on 01902 443021 / 444892.
Back to Basics Every Time
Preventing the spread of infection begins with some simple basics. Hands are the most common way of spreading germs.
- If you have a cold, use paper a handkerchief to blow your nose, and then throw them in the bin after use and wash and dry your hands.
- We share many things - food, computer keyboards and telephones. Wash your hands and reduce the risk
- Wash your hands after handling pets.
- Wash your hands before handling food and drink.
- Wash your hands before you eat.
- EVERYONE must wash and dry their hands after visiting the toilet. Research suggests 50% of us don’t bother. Remember to teach your children as well -
be a Washer not a walker!
Infection Prevention and Control is everyone’s business - whether you are a member of staff, a patient or a visitor.
Staff
Staff at the PCT follow stringent rules in the prevention of infection:
- Follow the Infection Prevention and Control Manual
- Attend mandatory Infection Prevention and Control training
- Always decontaminate hands before and after every patient contact.
- Wear personal protective equipment appropriately
- Dispose of sharps safely
- Clean up spillages of blood and body fluids using the spillage kit
- Dispose of waste safely.
- Clean equipment after use
Patients
The are basic things that you can do, as a patient, to prevent infection when you are in hospital:
- Wash and dry hands after visiting the toilet or using the bed pan or commode.
- Ask staff for hand -wipes if you cannot access the sink
- Challenge staff if they fail to wash or gel their hands before touching you.
- Wash and dry hands before you eat your meals.
- Do not touch your wounds or catheter.
- Help us keep your bed-space clean by not having too much clutter during your stay
- Information leaflets are available to explain about infections – please ask a member of staff.
Visitors
If you are visiting someone in hospital, there are certain things that you can do to help prevent infections:
- Do Not visit anyone if you are unwell with a heavy cold or sickness or diarrhoea or have an infectious illness
- Gel hands on entering and leaving the ward.
- If visiting a patient in isolation, always wash and dry your hands on leaving the isolation room.
- Do Not sit on the bed when visiting.
- Ask to see the Infection Prevention and Control Specialist Nurse if you need any information on any infection and its treatment
