Global healthcare needs infection control reform, say experts

World leaders in infection control and disease prevention convened online at the inaugural iClean 2020 conference on 28 May to discuss innovative infection control reform in hospitals and aged-care facilities in the wake of the COVID-19 crisis.

Keynote speaker Professor Didier Pittet* said there has never been a more pertinent time to address infection control in our healthcare systems.

“During this devastating COVID-19 pandemic, up to one in five people who contracted the virus globally are healthcare workers, and we saw similar numbers in the SARs and MERS outbreaks."

“Furthermore, aged-care residents accounted for 29% of COVID-19-related deaths in Australia, and this rate is even higher in Europe, the United States and the United Kingdom, who have been hardest hit by the pandemic,” Professor Pittet said.

“We are therefore calling for urgent reform in our approach to cleaning and disinfection in hospitals and aged-care homes.”

Professor Pittet explained that Clean Hospitals — an initiative aiming to create better procedures, training, auditing and management processes — would allow cleaning and infection control managers around the world to improve quality and outcomes.

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Source: Hospital Healthcare, 1 June 2020