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Showing results for tags 'Healthcare associated infection'.
Found 179 results
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News ArticleAn investigation into the outbreak of a bacterial infection that killed 15 people has found there were several “missed opportunities” in their care. Mid Essex Clinical Commissioning Group has released the outcome of a 10-month investigation into a Strep A outbreak in 2019, which killed 15 people and affected a further 24. The final report was critical of Provide, a community interest company based in Colchester, as well as the former Mid Essex Hospital Services Trust (now part of Mid and South Essex Foundation Trust). It said: “This investigation has identified that in some cases there were missed opportunities where treatment should have been more proactive, holistic and timely. These do not definitively indicate that their outcomes would have been different.” Investigators found that 13 of the 15 people that died had received poor wound care from Provide CIC. They reported that inappropriate wound dressings were used and record keeping was so poor that deterioration of wounds was not recognised. Even wounds that had not improved over 22 days were not escalated to senior team members for help or referred to the tissue viability service for specialist advice, with investigators told this was often due to concerns over team capacity. The report, commissioned by the CCG and conducted by consultancy firm Facere Melius, said: “[Some] individuals became increasingly unwell over a period of time in the community, yet their deterioration either went unnoticed or was not acted upon promptly. Sometimes their condition had become so serious that they were very ill before acute medical intervention was sought”. Other findings included delays in the community in the taking of wound swabs to determine if the wound was infected and by which bacteria. It said in one case nine days elapsed before the requested swab took place. Even after Public Health England asked for all wounds to be swabbed following the initial outbreak, this was only conducted on a single patient. In other cases there were delays in patients being given antibiotics and this “could have had an adverse impact on the treatment for infection”. It also found that sepsis guidelines were not accurately followed, wounds were not uncovered for inspection in A&E, and some patients were given penicillin-based antibiotics despite penicillin allergies being listed in their health records. Read full story (paywalled) Source: HSJ, 17 September 2020
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News Article
Wards to get ‘star ratings’ under first new NHS cleaning rules for 14 years
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
The first new hospital cleaning standards for 14 years have been outlined by regulators, including confirmation of new food hygiene-style star ratings. Wards and theatres will be given ratings from one to five stars – based on audits which score the cleanliness of areas against safe standards – and these ratings will be made visible to patients. The plans for the new star ratings, which are expected to be easier for patients to understand than the current cleanliness percentage scores, were first revealed by HSJ in 2019. The ratings are also designed to encourage a more collaborative approach, by reflecting the cleanliness score for whole areas, as opposed to the performance of individual parties responsible for cleaning certain elements. Areas rated one to three stars would require improvement plans and be automatically placed under review, with “immediate action” being required in one-star rated areas. Read full story (paywalled) Source: HSJ, 6 May 2021 -
News Article
Infections linked to Glasgow child cancer hospital deaths
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
An infection "probably" linked to Glasgow's children's hospital was the "primary cause of death" of a young cancer patient, the BBC has learned. Infections from contaminated water at the hospital were also found to have been an "important contributory factor" in another child's death. A review looked into the cases of 84 children who developed infections while undergoing treatment at the hospital. It found that a third of infections "probably" originated in the hospital and the rest were "possibly" acquired there. The authors of the "case note review", which should be published next week, said they recognised that some families would be disappointed that they could not have "greater certainty" about the links between their child's infection and the hospital environment. They said this was down to the limits of a retrospective review but also criticised the shortcomings in the data provided by the health board. Read full story Source: BBC News, 20 March 2021 -
News ArticleNHS Supply Chain has suspended supplies of some ultrasound gels over concerns they might be connected with outbreaks of bacterial infections in multiple hospitals. Thirty hospitals have reported 46 cases of Burkholderia contaminans between October last year and January 2021. No patients have died but some developed sepsis symptoms. NHS Supply Chain has suspended supplies of three ultrasound gels as a “precautionary measure” and guidance has been updated on the safe use of gel to reduce the risk of transmission of infection. Existing stocks have not been recalled and NHS Supply Chain is stocking similar products as alternatives. Public Health England has said its provisional investigation suggests a potential link with ultrasound or ultrasound-guided procedures as many of the infected patients had undergone these before the bacterium was identified. It is also investigating how many of the patients have spent time in intensive care or high dependency settings. A related bacteria, called Burkholderia cepacian, was also found in 27 cases. Read full story (paywalled) Source: HSJ, 4 March 2021
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News Article
Reviews of hospital-acquired covid deaths as ‘basic’ breaches found
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
Senior doctors are leading a programme of work to review deaths caused by hospital-acquired covid in the North West, which has had disproportionately high rates of nosocomial infections over the last three months. According to internal NHS England papers seen by HSJ, a number of common themes have been identified as driving the infections in the region, including “breaches in the basic tenets of infection prevention control”, insufficient numbers of cleaning staff at some trusts, and a lack of consistent testing. The papers say there is also evidence that covid occupancy rates above 20 per cent drives nosocomial transmission. Occupancy rates in the North West have been near or above this level since the start of December, but have still been significantly lower than other areas, such as London. Read full story (paywalled) Source: HSJ, 24 February 2021 -
News Article
NHS board special measures call over child's hospital death
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
Scotland's biggest health board should be put in "special measures" over its handling of hospital infection issues, according to an MSP. Anas Sarwar made the call after a mother accused NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde (NHSGGC) of covering up possible factors in her daughter's death.Mr Sarwar said the health board had tried to intimidate health service whistleblowers who had raised concerns. NHSGGC said the source of the child's infection could not be determined. Earlier this week a whistleblower revealed that a doctor-led review had identified 26 infections at Glasgow's Royal Hospital for Children in 2017 which were potentially linked to problems with the water supply. Kimberly Darroch, whose daughter Milly Main died at the hospital in August 2017 while in remission from leukaemia, said health officials gave her no inkling that contaminated water could have been a factor. Health Secretary Jeane Freeman has said the first she knew of Milly's death was when Ms Darroch emailed her about her concerns in September. NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde has offered to meet the family to discuss their concerns - but said it was impossible to accurately determine the source of Milly's infection because there was no requirement for water testing at the time. It said the hospital's water had been independently assessed as safe, and it criticised the whistleblower for causing "stress and anxiety" for Milly's parents when there was no evidence of a link. Anas Sarwar, however, insisted the health board had let down both patients and staff. He said: "There was an attempted cover-up of Milly's death, and there are still dozens of families who don't know the truth about infections contracted in the QEUH." Read full story Source: BBC News, 16 February 2021 -
News Article
Scottish Hospitals Inquiry to begin to investigate problems at flagship hospitals
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
An inquiry will begin hearing evidence on Monday into problems at two flagship Scottish hospitals that contributed to the death of two children. The Scottish Hospitals Inquiry is investigating the construction of the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital (QEUH) campus in Glasgow and the Royal Hospital for Children and Young People and Department of Clinical Neurosciences in Edinburgh. The inquiry was ordered after patients at the Glasgow site died from infections linked to pigeon droppings and the water supply, and the opening of the Edinburgh site was delayed due to concerns over the ventilation system. Earlier this year, an independent review found the death of two children at the QEUH were at least in part the result of infections linked to the hospital environment. The review investigated 118 episodes of serious bacterial infection in 84 children and young people who received treatment for blood disease, cancer or related conditions at the Royal Hospital for Children at the campus. It found a third of these infections were “most likely” to have been linked to the hospital environment. The inquiry will aim to determine how issues at the two hospitals relating to ventilation, water contamination and other matters impacted on patient safety and care and whether this could have been prevented. Read full story Source: The Herald, 20 September 2021 -
News ArticleMore than one in five ‘covid deaths’ were both probably hospital-acquired, and caused at least in part by the virus, at several trusts, according to analysis released to HSJ. HSJ obtained figures from more than 30 trusts which have looked in detail at cases where patients died after definitely, or probably, catching covid in hospital. Thirty-two acute trusts provided HSJ with robust data, out of the total 120 in England. Across all 32, they had recorded 3,223 covid hospital deaths which were either “definitely” or ‘probably’ nosocomial — making up around 17% of their total reported 19,020 hospital deaths. The trusts said 2,776 of the 3,223 deaths also had covid listed on their death certificate, either as an “immediate cause” or as a contributory factor. That constitutes about 15% of all the hospitals’ covid deaths, and 86% of the nosocomial deaths. When approached by HSJ, these trusts said they followed robust infection control practices, and that high community covid prevalence, and covid admissions, were the main cause of hospital-acquired infection. Some trusts also cited their ageing infrastructure. Read full story (paywalled) Source: HSJ, 6 September 2021
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Event
Webinar: World Hand Hygiene Day 2022
Patient Safety Learning posted an event in Community Calendar
When people seek healthcare, they are hoping to get better. Too often, however, they end up getting a new, avoidable infection – which is often resistant to antimicrobials and can sometimes even be fatal. When a health facility’s “quality and safety climate or culture” values hand hygiene and infection prevention and control (IPC), this results in both patients and health workers feeling protected and cared for. That is why the World Hand Hygiene Day (WHHD) theme for 2022 is a “health care quality and safety climate or culture” that values hand hygiene and IPC, and the slogan is “Unite for safety: clean your hands”. This webinar will bring together experts from WHO and from academic institutions and leaders from the field to discuss how a strong institutional quality and safety climate or culture that values hand hygiene and IPC is a critical element of effective strategies to reduce the spread of infection and antimicrobial resistance. New evidence on this as well as priorities for research in this area identified by WHO will be presented. With the help of a facilitator, participants will have the unique opportunity to dialogue with the expert panel and bring their experiences. The webinar will also be the exceptional moment for the launch of the first WHO global report on IPC. Now is the time to unite by talking about and working together on an institutional safety climate that believes in hand hygiene for IPC and high-quality, safe care. Objectives To overview the new WHO hand hygiene research agenda and evidence on the role of a health care quality and safety climate or culture for hand hygiene improvement. To describe a range of experiences regarding the evidence for and efforts to support a health care quality culture and safety climate through clean hands and IPC programmes of work. To launch the first WHO global report on IPC. Register -
Event
Managing the burden of wounds by focusing on prevention
Sam posted an event in Community Calendar
untilThe NHS spends £8.3 billion a year treating chronic wounds on an estimated 3.8 million people, according to the recently updated study evaluating the “Burden of Wounds” to the NHS. Costs have increased by 48% in the five years since the study was first published and the overwhelming majority of this burgeoning demand, around 80% of the caseload, impacts on community healthcare. This session chaired by Jacqui Fletcher OBE, focusses on managing the burden of wounds by focusing on prevention, and how technology and digitisation will enable a prevention focus. Prof Julian Guest will focus on the costs of wounds with a specific drill down on pressure ulcers and the impact prevention would have. Secondly Una Adderley will discuss the National Wound Care Strategy and the role will have on pressure ulcers prevention. Register -
EventuntilThe aim of this day is to further enhance the understanding of delegates in the causes of surgical wound breakdown, the recognition and management of wound infection and the management of dehisced surgical wounds. Learning Objectives At the end of this study day, delegates will have: An awareness of national guidance and best practice with regard to prevention of surgical wound infection. A good understanding of how to recognise unusual signs of infection in surgical wounds including wound swabbing, how to do it when and why. A basic understanding of NPWT (Negative Pressure Wound Therapy), how and when to use. Register
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EventuntilThe NHS spends £8.3 billion a year treating chronic wounds on an estimated 3.8 million people, according to the recently updated study evaluating the “Burden of Wounds” to the NHS. Costs have increased by 48% in the five years since the study was first published and the overwhelming majority of this burgeoning demand, around 80% of the caseload, impacts on community healthcare. This webinar will explore the “Burden of Wounds” with study author Julian Guest and consider how digital wound management solutions can relieve pressure and improve outcomes. We’ll see case studies from community nurses, hear the patient and staff view through #tvn2gether and the National Wound Care Strategy team will share their long term vision. Chaired by Margaret Kitching MBE, Chief Nurse for NHS England and NHS Improvement’s North East and Yorkshire Region, this conversation brings together leading voices within wound care to discuss new strategies for 2021 and beyond. Register
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Event
Time to act on surgical site infections
Sam posted an event in Community Calendar
untilThe webinar from GovConnect will consider: The impact of SSIs on the NHS and the promise of programmes such as Quality Improvement for Surgical Teams in meeting this challenge – led by Professor Mike Reed, Consultant Trauma and Orthopaedic surgeon, Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust The role of collaborative best practice guidelines in reducing surgical site infections post-COVID – led by Lindsay Keeley, Patient Safety & Quality Lead, The Association for Perioperative Practice (AfPP) Lessons from Getting It Right First Time and the value of a collaborative approach to SSI reduction – Anna Thompson, SSI Surveillance Lead, Ashford and St Peter’s NHS Trust Group discussion on what more we can do to minimise the risk of SSIs, and how we can ensure that SSI reduction is prioritised by politicians and policymakers Register -
EventuntilThe webinar will consider: The impact of SSIs on the NHS and the promise of programmes such as Quality Improvement for Surgical Teams in meeting this challenge – led by Mike Reed, Consultant trauma and orthopaedic surgeon, Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust. The role of collaborative best practice guidelines in reducing surgical site infections post-COVID – led by Lindsay Keeley, Patient safety & Quality Lead, The Association of Perioperative Practice (AfPP). Lessons from Getting it Right First Time and the value of a collaborative approach to SSI reduction – Anna Thompson, SSI Surveillance Lead, Ashford and St Peter’s NHS Trust. Group discussion on what more we can do to minimise the risk of SSIs, and how we can ensure that SSI reduction is prioritised by politicians and policymakers. Register
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Content ArticleThis Quality Improvement Programme for Surgical Site Infections document was developed as an output of an advisory board meeting, convened by Mölnlycke. The meeting focused on developing a resource to aid healthcare professionals to deliver successful infection prevention programmes in their organisations.
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Content ArticleNHS England’s report into blood culture practices outlines key improvement steps in the pre-analytical phase of the blood culture pathway. Through targeted recommendations to trust chief executives, clinical and pathology staff, we have an opportunity to improve the blood culture pathway, antimicrobial stewardship and patient outcomes from sepsis. This document sets out proposals to improve and standardise the pre-analytical phase of the blood culture pathway. It details the outputs of the antimicrobial resistance (AMR) diagnostics improvement workstream at NHS England and NHS Improvement, and examines the required changes to improve existing processes within the blood culture pathway. It concludes with a set of recommendations for best practice.
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Content Article
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We’re looking for patients to help raise awareness of the damaging impact that surgical infections can have on people, and guide improvements. Have you ever been in surgery and contracted an infection? Do you want to share your experience anonymously and help create change? Take part in this survey: Experiences of Surgical Infections -
Content ArticleThe Queen Elizabeth University Hospital Review was prompted by public and political concern following reports of the deaths of three patients between December 2018 and February 2019. The deaths had been linked to rare microorganisms and concern was growing that these organisms were in turn linked to the built environment at the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital (QEUH) and Royal Hospital for Children (RHC). The Review's remit was: “To establish whether the design, build, commissioning and maintenance of the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital and Royal Hospital for Children has had an adverse impact on the risk of Healthcare Associated Infection and whether there is wider learning for NHS Scotland”.
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Content ArticleInfection prevention and control (IPC) programmes and practices play a vital role to ensure outbreak preparedness and control, including patient safety and quality of care, which remain essential components of universal health coverage across health systems worldwide. However, detailed IPC evaluations using standardised validated tools, such as the WHO IPC self-assessment framework (IPCAF), are limited. Tomczyk et al. have conducted the first WHO global survey to assess implementation of these programmes in healthcare facilities. IPC professionals were invited through global outreach and national coordinated efforts to complete the online WHO IPC assessment framework (IPCAF). The study found that despite an overall high IPCAF score globally, important gaps in IPC facility implementation and core components across income levels hinder IPC progress. Increased support for more effective and sustainable IPC programmes is crucial to reduce risks posed by outbreaks to global health security and to ensure patient and health worker safety.
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Content ArticleThe European Network for Safer Healthcare (ENSH) joined forces with the European Association of Urology Nurses (EAUN) to work on a policy campaign to prevent catheter-associated urinary tract infections (CAUTI) in Europe as a path to improving patient safety and preventing anti-microbial resistance (AMR) through: Improvement of adherence to existing European guidelines to prevent CAUTI. Development of European indicators to support the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) and/or national surveillance systems.
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Content ArticleIn this insightful and informative review by Dr Shaffi from Cleveland Clinic learn how you can target Zero catheter-associated urinary tract infections (CAUTI) through close attention to practice - from patient selection through management of the catheter lifecycle and delivery of data driven practice learn the changes that matter.
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Content ArticleIn this article, Anubha Taneja Mukherjee, Group Member Secretary of Thalassemia Patients Advocacy, writes about patient safety issues surrounding blood donation and transfusion in India. She looks at several recent cases of children with thalassemia being infected with HIV while having blood transfusions, and highlights growing concern about lack of regulation and inconsistent testing of donated blood in India. She argues that blood banks should use additional screening such as the Nucleic Acid Amplification Test (NAT) to provide a safety net and ensure that blood containing infectious diseases—such as HIV, hepatitis B and C, syphilis and malaria—is not unwittingly given to patients.
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Content ArticleThis prospective study aimed to determine the surgical site infection (SSI) rate and associated risk factors was carried in a general surgical ward at Liaquat University Hospital Jamshoro. A total of 460 patients requiring elective general surgery from July 2005 to June 2006 were included in this study. All four surgical wound categories were included. Primary closure was employed in all cases. Patients were followed up to 30th day postoperatively. All cases were evaluated for postoperative fever, redness, swelling of wound margins and collection of pus. Cultures were taken from all the cases with any of the above finding. The overall rate of surgical site infection was 13·0%. The rate of wound infection was 5·3% in clean operations, 12·4% in clean‐contaminated, 36·3% in contaminated and 40% in dirt‐infected cases. Age, use of surgical drain, duration of operation and wound class were significant risk factors for increased surgical site infection.. Postoperative hospital stay was double in cases who had surgical site infection. Sex, haemoglobin level and diabetes were not statistically significant risk factors. In conclusion, surgical site infection causes considerable morbidity and economic burden. The routine reporting of SSI rates stratified by potential risk factors associated with increased risk of infection is highly recommended.
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Content ArticleIn March 2018, the Secretary-General of the United Nations launched a global call to action for WASH in all healthcare facilities, noting that healthcare facilities are essential tools in reducing disease, and that without basic WASH services, healthcare facilities can instead contribute to more infections, prolonged hospital stays and preventable deaths, including of mothers and babies. This call was answered in a May 2019 World Health Assembly resolution calling on countries to conduct comprehensive assessments of WASH and IPC in health care facilities, and to take steps to improve WASH and IPC conditions where necessary. In May 2022, the World Health Assembly passed a resolution calling for WHO to draft a global strategy on infection prevention and control. The World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), through the WHO/ UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene (JMP) release progress updates on WASH in households, WASH in schools and WASH in health care facilities every two years. This 2022 update presents national, regional and global estimates for WASH in healthcare facilities up to the year 2021, with a special focus on the linkages between WASH and infection prevention and control (IPC). Achieving universal access to WASH in health care facilities requires political will and strong leadership at both national and facility levels, but is highly cost-effective, and would yield substantial health benefits.
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Content ArticleNon-ventilator-associated hospital-acquired pneumonia (NVHAP) is one of the most common and deadly healthcare-associated infections, but it is not tracked, reported or actively prevented by most hospitals. This article in the journal Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology highlights a national call to action to address NVHAP in the US. This national call to action includes: launching a national healthcare conversation about NVHAP prevention. adding NVHAP prevention measures to education for patients, healthcare professionals, and students. challenging healthcare systems and insurers to implement and support NVHAP prevention. encouraging researchers to develop new strategies for NVHAP surveillance and prevention.
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