Infection Control

A clean hospital environment is essential for the health and well being of patients, staff and visitors. Effective compliance auditing of cleaning standards is vital in maintaining a healthy and safe hospital environment, and contributes significantly to the quality of patient care. However, following recent research there has been increasing concern that standards of cleanliness and infection control have been falling. Research has shown that dirty hospitals increase the risk of spreading infection. The National Audit Office report The Management and Control of Hospital Acquired Infection in Acute NHS trusts in England published in February 2000 shows that poor basic hygiene can lead to prolonged patient stays in hospital due to acquiring infections, in particular, Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), and therefore cost the NHS in England as much as £1,000 million each year.

What research exists on this topic?

There is a wide array of research to review, but here we summarise some key publications from the UK with global relevance to healthcare professionals looking to combat infection and improve clinical outcomes. Whilst there is no direct evidence linking the increase in MRSA cases with falling cleaning standards, the quoted reports have shown that there is a possible link and common sense would suggest that cleanliness plays a crucial role.

The Seventh Report of the House of Lords Select Committee on Science and Technology, Resistance to antibiotics and other antimicrobial agents published 17th March 1998, states that basic hygiene should be at the heart of good hospital management and practice. The report also states that "poor hygiene has been definitely implicated in some outbreaks of hospital infection".
The National Audit Office report The Management and Control of Hospital Acquired Infection in Acute NHS trusts in England published in February 2000 shows that poor basic hygiene can lead to acquired infection, especially MRSA and contributes to significant increases in healthcare costs.
The European Commission funded European Antimicrobial Resistance Surveillance System reported in March 2002 that the United Kingdom has alarmingly high proportions of MRSA, with the highest proportion in Europe.
According to the Public Health Laboratory Service, in Wales, the number of reported new MRSA cases rose by 16 per cent between 1997 and 2000.

What Infection Control measures are being introduced?

The main focus of bodies with political and legal responsibility for hospital effectiveness has been on improving cleanliness and infection control in healthcare environments. In addition to the seminal work in England, the Welsh and Scottish agencies have been active in efforts to combat infection:

In Wales research from the Auditor General of Wales provided guidance on how to improve and manage cleanliness in hospitals, particularly Acute trusts.
In Scotland the Scottish Executive has launched a compulsory monitoring scheme and provided direct funding to manage the new processes.

How can Servicetrac Audit compliance auditing software make a difference?

Servicetrac Audit can be configured with ease to collect and report on data within the healthcare environment, isolated down to bed, room, department, building or even trust level. Key Infection Control benefits include:

Improved accuracy of data collection through the use of pocket PCs in the wards, theatres and at the bedside.
Easy creation of reports provides timely, actionable and efficient management information. Releasing resources to tackle infection risk.
Compliance auditing of the system proves actions taken and care provided to patients.
Using compliance auditing software performance is measured and monitored, enabling proof of achievement for both local and national targets as well as enabling an ethos of continuous improvement.
Early detection and isolation of risk factors/causes of infection, therefore reducing further infections.