INFECTION
CONTROL
Why is Infection Control Important?
“Hospitals
should do the
sick no harm”.
Florence Nightingale
(1859)
Patients are vulnerable to
infection
•
•
•
•
WHERE CAN
MICROORGANISMS BE
FOUND ?
Environment
People
Equipment
Food
WHAT DO MICROORGANISMS NEED
TO GROW?
•
•
•
•
Warmth
Moisture
Food source
Time
HOW DO THEY SPREAD?
• Hands
• Through the air
• Via equipment e.g.
Commodes
• Puncture of the skin
• Food
•
•
•
•
An infected person
Droplets
Contact
Skin scales
Standard precautions are the
minimal level of infection
control precautions that
apply to all patients at all
times in all situations.
Who is responsible for
implementing
Standard Precautions?
We all are.
All NHSGGC employees must follow the
requirements of the Standard
Precautions Policy – See your ward
Infection Control Manual for information.
PPE
Hand hygiene
Masks and Eye
protection
There are 10 elements to
Standard Precautions
Environment
Clinical Waste
Isolating infectious
patients
Spillages
Patient care equipment
Linen
Cough Etiquette
Occupational Exposure
Hand Hygiene
The simplest and most
effective method of preventing
the spread of infection
Hand Hygiene
• Simple and effective
• Proven to reduce the risk of acquiring
HAI
• Use of alcohol gels
• Performed between each patient
intervention
• Ensure technique is good
Wet hands, apply
soap. Palm to palm.
Backs of fingers to
opposing palms with
fingers interlocked.
Right palm over left
dorsum and left palm
over right dorsum.
Rotational rubbing of
right thumb clasped in
left palm and vice
versa.
Palm to palm
fingers interlaced.
Rotational rubbing,
backwards and forwards
with clasped fingers of right
hand in left palm and vice
versa.
Alcohol Hand Gel
• Used as a compliment to handwashing not a
replacement
• Good for rapid disinfection of skin
• Can only be used on physically clean hands
• Suitable for use on ward rounds between
patients.
• Should only be used up to 5 times then wash
hands with soap and water
• Placed at every bed space within NHSGGC
PERSONAL PROTECTIVE
EQUIPMENT (PPE)
•
•
•
•
•
Gloves
Aprons
Eye protection
Face shields
Masks
Isolation
Protective
• Vulnerable patients,
with poor immune
systems.
• Patients who may
be receiving
chemotherapy
• Stop these patients
catching an infection
Source
• Patients identified
as carrying bugs
that could cause
other patients to
become ill if it was
passed onto them.
Methicillin Resistant
Staphylococcus Aureus (MRSA)
•
•
•
•
What is MRSA?
What are the predisposing risk factors?
What is colonised, What is infected?
How is MRSA transmitted
MRSA screening
•
•
•
•
•
Who should be screened
When should they be screened
What samples should be taken
What treatment should be given
What about isolation
Clostridium difficile
Symptoms
• Watery, foul smelling stools.
• Abdominal pain.
• Pyrexia (high temperature)
• Dehydration.
How to prevent spread of
Clostridium Difficile to other
patients
•
•
•
•
If they have diarrhoea send a sample.
Isolate them in a side room.
Use Personal Protective Equipment.
Encourage the patient to wash their hands
after using the toilet.
• Clean the commode thoroughly after every
use with Actichlor Plus.
OUTBREAKS
OUTBREAKS
•
•
•
•
•
What is an outbreak
When should infection control be notified
What information is required
Can patients be discharged/transferred
Can patients attend for examinations e.g. xray
• Enhanced cleaning
• Outbreak is over, what now?
BRISTOL STOOL CHART
Long Transit
e.g 100 hours
Type 1
Separate hard lumps,
like nuts hard to pass
Type 2
Sausage shaped but lumpy
Type 3
Like sausage but with cracks
on the surface
Type 4
Like sausage or snake,
smooth and soft
Type 5
Soft blobs with clear cut
edges (passed easily)
Type 6
Fluffy pieces with ragged
edges, a mushy stool
Type 7
Short transit
e.g 10 hours
Watery, no solid pieces
Types 1-5 do
not send
specimens to
microbiology.
Types 6 and 7
send
specimens to
microbiology
Prevention and Control of
Infection Team
• There are Prevention and
Control of Infection Teams
available for specialist
Infection Control advice
within NHSGGC
• Contact details of local
Infection Control Teams
(ICT) can be found within
NHSGGC Prevention and
Control of Infection
Manual, via your local
switchboard or website;
www.nhsggc.org.uk/infectioncontrol