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Showing results for tags 'Healthcare associated infection'.
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News Article
Green targets ‘prioritised over patient safety’ at super-hospital
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
The drive to hit green targets was prioritised over patient safety when the beleaguered Queen Elizabeth University Hospital (QEUH) was built in Glasgow, a key expert has warned. Andrew Poplett, an engineer specialising in healthcare ventilation who has conducted audits of the building, said the air cooling system installed in most patient rooms, known as “chilled beams”, was good at reducing greenhouse gas emissions, but did not meet healthcare standards for circulating air. Engineers who worked on the building have also told a public inquiry, which is considering fatal infections among patients, that the drive to hit a low carbon emission target was “paramount” from the start. Under the Climate Change (Scotland) Act 2009, there was a fixed emissions reduction target for 2015 — the year the hospital opened — a goal the SNP government under the first minister Nicola Sturgeon later announced they had met. In previous years, milestones had been missed. The comments throw light on a key aspect of the £842 million hospital, which was opened by Queen Elizabeth amid much fanfare, but went on to encounter multiple problems, including infection outbreaks. Seven patient deaths are being investigated by the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service. In 2021, a review found 84 children had been infected with rare bacteria while undergoing treatment on site. Kimberly Darroch has argued for years that her daughter, Milly Main, died from an infection she caught at the hospital while recovering from leukaemia in 2017. Poplett said the “chilled beams” were installed to ventilate rooms at the QEUH. This ceiling-based system uses cold water to reduce air temperature, a little like radiators use hot water to warm rooms. They change the air, depending on room size, around two to four times per hour, compared with the level recommended for healthcare facilities of six. He told The Times: “The NHS is a government organisation committed to achieve an awful lot of different priorities, one being net-zero carbon. If you want to move towards net-zero carbon and energy efficient buildings, chilled beams are useful. “However, the protocol of the required ventilation rates from a clinical perspective is diametrically opposed to net-zero carbon. You cannot have both. “It appeared that the environmental consideration to make the hospital as energy efficient and as green as possible took priority over the clinical requirement for high change air rates.” Read full story (paywalled) Source: The Times, 11 May 2026 -
EventThis webinar will bring together global experts and practitioners to explore how Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) interventions can be implemented to improve safety in newborn and child care and help reduce avoidable harm. The webinar will focus on: Why infection prevention and control is essential for safe newborn and childcare. How Goal 4 can be implemented in practice at the point of care. What health care workers, leaders, managers, and policymakers can do to prevent health care–associated infections. This webinar series is co-hosted by the World Health Organization, the International Pediatric Association, and the Child Health Task Force. Register
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News Article
Scandal-hit hospital left children with lifelong conditions, MSPs told
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
Children have been left with debilitating conditions due to their treatment at a scandal-hit Glasgow hospital, their parents have told MSPs. The Scottish government has been urged to launch a probe into concerns children treated at the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital (QEUH) are suffering from conditions including chronic stomach pain and incontinence after being given anti-infection treatments for too long. The families claim children were given prophylactic drugs due to infection risks at the hospital, but say they have been lied to by health chiefs. NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde said the treatment was an established method of preventing infections, and that the hospital is safe. First Minister John Swinney's spokesman said he was looking at the issues "as a matter of urgency". fter years of denials, the health board admitted last month that issues with its water system probably caused infections in child cancer patients at the QEUH campus, which includes the Royal Hospital for Children. A public inquiry is looking into how design, construction, and system failures led to safety issues, and whether these problems could have been prevented. Separately, the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service is looking at seven cases of patients who died, to establish if there is sufficient evidence of criminality such as corporate homicide or breaches of health and safety law. Read full story Source: BBC News, 26 February 2026 -
News Article
Five trusts ‘high outliers’ for ‘largely preventable’ infections
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
Five trusts with unusually high levels of surgical infections, which experts called “largely preventable” harm, have been identified by the UK’s health security agency. The UKHSA briefing issued last month said the acute providers had rates of surgical site infections (SSIs) that fell above 95th percentile thresholds for certain orthopaedic categories in 2024-25. The group of “statistical high outliers” were Liverpool University Hospitals Foundation Trust, Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells, and Shrewsbury and Telford Hospitals trusts, identified for repair of neck and femur. North Tees and Hartlepool FT were identified for reduction of long bone fractures, and North Bristol Trust for hip replacement. Infection Prevention Society vice president Kerry Holden toldHSJ: “Reducing surgical site infections is fundamental because they are largely preventable harms that have a significant impact on patients, including increased morbidity, prolonged recovery, and avoidable readmissions, as well as substantial cost pressures on the healthcare system.” She added that an outlier trust would be expected to review practices such as theatre discipline, skin preparation, and treatments or action taken to prevent disease, as well as develop targeted quality improvement interventions with clear leadership oversight. Read full story (paywalled) Source: HSJ, 27 January 2026 -
EventuntilHealthcare-associated infections (HAIs) remain a major, yet largely preventable, burden across all countries—contributing infection in 7% of hospital patients in high income settings, and 15% in Low and Middle-Income Countries thereby imposing significant costs on health systems and society. Environmental cleaning is a critical component of infection prevention and control strategies. However, it is often overlooked in terms of staffing, funding, and research investment. Over the past five years, a coalition of leading organizations—including WHO, ICAN, WaterAid, UK-PHRST, and LSHTM—has worked to raise awareness of this missed opportunity to reduce infection transmission. Join this event on 11 December, where speakers will highlight the collaborative efforts to strengthen the evidence base for environmental cleaning in healthcare settings. The event will mark the publication in Lancet Microbe of findings from a recent cluster randomized trial conducted in Cambodia which evaluates the effectiveness of the WHO training package on environmental cleaning. The programme will feature presentations, a panel discussion, and a Q&A session, followed by a networking reception. Find out more here.
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Content ArticleMost hospitals have stopped testing all patients for Covid-19 when they are admitted and no longer require masking. Ten hospitals in the Mass General Brigham hospital system ended both these precautions simultaneously in May 2023 but restarted masking for health care workers in January 2024 during a winter respiratory viral surge. This study in JAMA Network Open looked at the association of these changes with the relative incidence of hospital-onset Covid-19, influenza and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). The study showed that stopping universal masking and Covid-19 testing was associated with a significant increase in hospital-onset respiratory viral infections relative to community infections. Restarting the masking of health care workers was associated with a significant decrease.
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Content Article
WHO: Global report on infection prevention and control 2024
Mark Hughes posted an article in Infection control
This report highlights the burden of health care-associated infections (HAIs) and antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and the related harm to both patients and health workers in care settings. It also presents an updated global situation analysis of the implementation of infection prevention and control (IPC) programmes at the national and health care facility levels, including a focus on the WHO regions. Headline points from this report include: On average, out of every 100 patients in acute care hospitals, seven patients in high-income countries (HICs), and 15 patients in low and middle-income countries (LMICs), will acquire at least one HAI during their hospital stay. Almost up to one third (30%) of patients in intensive care can be affected by HAIs, with an incidence that is two to 20 times higher in LMICs than in HICs, in particular among neonates. One in four (23.6%) of all hospital-treated sepsis cases are health care-associated and this increases to almost one half (48.7%) of all cases of sepsis with organ dysfunction treated in adult intensive care units. In 2023–2024, according to the system established to monitor the status of country progress towards the implementation of the AMR global action plan (the Tracking AMR Country Self-assessment Survey), 9% of countries did not yet have an IPC programme or plan. Only 39% of countries had IPC programmes fully implemented nationwide, with some being monitored for their effectiveness. -
Content ArticleIn 2023, the first BD Healthcare Resilience Barometer explored the variety of factors that impact the stability of our healthcare system – from shifting population demographics and resourcing constraints to developments in the macroeconomic environment and the increase of chronic disease. This year, BD look closer at three core components that impact care delivery: the patients, the workforce, and the processes that drive overall efficiency. These components are tightly interconnected. Therefore, the challenges affecting them must be addressed holistically to enable us to build sustainable and resilient healthcare systems that can preserve access to safe, high-quality care for current and future generations and minimise the impact on the environment. The comprehensive solutions that are needed to address the challenges of today’s healthcare systems call for collaboration and collective commitment from all actors connected directly and indirectly to care delivery. It includes policymakers, regulators, researchers, academia, healthcare providers, funders, insurers, patients, and industry. The 2024 BD Healthcare Resilience Barometer captures the perspectives of stakeholders across the healthcare ecosystem and outlines the role we can all play in building sustainable healthcare systems that stand resilient, responsive, and ready for the evolving needs of our societies.
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Content ArticlePublished literature suggests “one-size-fits-all" infection prevention and control (IPC) staffing recommendations do not sufficiently account for programme complexity needs. This project's objective was to create and validate a calculator utilising risk and complexity factors to generate individualised IPC staffing ratios. Highlights A significant association exists between higher standard infection ratio ranges and staffing status for certain health care-associated infection types. Almost 80% of hospitals participating in the study were identified as having lower than expected staffing levels. More than 85% of respondents who believed their staffing levels were inadequate came from hospitals found to have lower than expected IP staffing by the calculator. This novel approach allows facilities to staff their IPC programme based on individual factors. Future versions of the calculator will be optimised based on the findings. Future research will clarify the impact of staffing on patient outcomes and staff retention.
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Content ArticleAnaesthesia professionals have consistently been leaders in patient safety and have long recognised the importance of hand hygiene in the anaesthesia workspace.Hand contamination is associated with pathogen transmission across multiple anaesthesia workspace reservoirs, and genome analysis of bacteria cultured from provider hands and infection causing pathogens have confirmed that providers transmit pathogens that result in patient infections.Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) transmission among anaesthesia workspace reservoirs is associated with an increased risk of surgical site infection (SSI). In order to reduce this risk, a multifaceted approach is indicated to prevent SSIs. When improved hand hygiene is incorporated as part of a multifaceted programme, substantial reductions in S. aureus transmission and SSIs can be achieved.These findings should provide the impetus for widespread improvements in hand hygiene compliance for all intraoperative personnel, with anaesthesia professionals taking the lead.
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Content ArticleInfection Prevention and Control (IPC) is considered to be a practical, evidence-based approach to prevent avoidable infections in healthcare settings, including those caused by antimicrobial resistant germs. In this blog, Claire Kilpatrick highlights a review article published in 2020. It outlines the approaches to prevention of surgical site infections (SSI) and adds new information on the world of global IPC, including recently launched initiatives that might impact on and support the surgical community. It also summarises some of the resources to implement the World Health Organization’s (WHO) SSI prevention guidelines. The founding member of WSIS, Joseph Solomkin, was chair of and played a key influencing role in this guideline evidence.
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Content ArticleThis study in Intensive and Critical Care Nursing examined the association between safety attitudes, quality of care, missed care, nurse staffing levels and the rate of healthcare-associated infection (HAI) in adult intensive care units (ICUs). The authors concluded that positive safety culture and better nurse staffing levels can lower the rates of HAIs in ICUs. Improvements to nurse staffing will reduce nursing workloads, which may reduce missed care, increase job satisfaction, and, ultimately, reduce HAIs. Key findings ICUs with strong job satisfaction had lower incidence and nurse-reported frequency of CLABSI, CAUTI, and VAP. Missed care was common, with 73.11% of nurses reporting missing at least one required care activity on their last shift. The mean patient-to-nurse ratio was 1.95. Increased missed care and higher workload were associated with higher HAIs. Nurses’ perceptions of CLABSI and VAP frequency were positively associated with the actual occurrence of CLABSI and VAP in participating units.
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Content ArticleWhole-body bathing or showering with a skin antiseptic to prevent surgical site infections (SSI) is a usual practice before surgery in settings where it is affordable. The aim is to make the skin as clean as possible by removing transient flora and some resident flora. Several organisations have issued recommendations regarding preoperative bathing. The care bundles proposed by the United Kingdom (UK) High impact intervention initiative and Health Protection Scotland recommend bathing with soap prior to surgery. The Royal College of Surgeons of Ireland recommends bathing on the day of surgery or before the procedure with soap . The USA Institute of Healthcare Improvement bundle for hip and knee arthroplasty recommends preoperative bathing with CHG soap. Finally, the UK-based National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidelines recommend bathing to reduce the microbial load, but not necessarily SSI. In addition, NICE states that the use of antiseptics is inconclusive in preventing SSI and that soap should be used. The purpose of this systematic review is to assess the effectiveness of preoperative bathing or showering with antiseptic compared to plain soap and to determine if these agents should be recommended for surgical patients to prevent SSI.
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Content ArticleThe Pennsylvania Patient Safety Reporting System (PA-PSRS) is the largest database of patient safety event reports in the US. In addition to over 4.5 million acute care reports, the PA-PSRS database contains more than 396,000 long-term care healthcare-associated infection (HAI) reports. This study in Patient Safety aimed to look at trends in HAIs in long term care using data from the PA-PSRS database. The study found that there was an increase in the total number and rate of infections reported to PA-PSRS in 2022.
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Content ArticleThis study in the Journal of Patient Safety and Risk Management aimed to assess the patient safety situation in Ghana across the World Health Organization's (WHO’s) 12 action areas of patient safety. The authors used interviews and observation including a WHO adapted questionnaire across 16 selected hospitals, including two teaching hospitals selected from the northern and southern parts of the Ghana. The key strength identified in the patient safety situational analysis was knowledge and learning in patient safety, while patient safety surveillance was the weakest action area identified. There were also weaknesses in areas such as national patient policy, healthcare associated infections, surgical safety, patient safety partnerships and patient safety funding.
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Content ArticleThis study in the American Journal of Surgery aimed to understand the impact of operating room temperature and humidity on surgical site infection (SSI). The authors found that large deviations in operating theatre temperature and humidity do not increase the risk of SSI.
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Content ArticleThis bulletin from the Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI) describes two new in-hospital infections indicators for Clostridium difficile (C. difficile) and Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). It includes a table listing CIHI’s selected patient safety performance indicators and definitions.
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News Article
Bleach does not tackle fatal hospital superbug, UK researchers find
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
Liquid bleach does not kill off a hospital superbug that can cause fatal infections, researchers have found. Clostridium difficile, also known as C diff, is a type of bacteria found in the human gut. While it can coexist alongside other bacteria without problem, a disruption to gut flora can allow C diff to flourish, leading to bowel problems including diarrhoea and colitis. Severe infections can kill, with 1,910 people known to have died within 30 days of an infection in England during financial year 2021-2022. Those at greater risk of C diff infections include people aged over 65, those who are in hospital, people with a weakened immune system and people taking antibiotics, with some individuals experiencing repeated infections. According to government guidance, updated in 2019, chlorine-containing cleaning agents with at least 1,000 ppm available chlorine should be used as a disinfectant to tackle C diff. But researchers say it is unlikely be sufficient, with their experiments suggesting that even at high concentrations, sodium hypochlorite – a common type of bleach – is no better than water at doing the job. “With antimicrobial resistance increasing, people need to recognise that overuse of biocides can cause tolerance in certain microbes, and we’re seeing that definitely with chlorine and C diff,” said Dr Tina Joshi, co-author of the research, from the University of Plymouth. While chlorine-based chemicals used to be effective at killing such bacteria, that no longer appears to be the case, she said. “The UK doesn’t seem to have any written new gold standard for C diff disinfection. And I think that needs to change immediately,” she said. Read full story Source: The Guardian, 22 November 2023 -
News ArticleHospital-acquired infections, which became substantially more common during the pandemic, have returned to pre-pandemic levels, according to a new report from a US patient safety watchdog group. It's key to note, researchers say, that infection rates before March 2020 were nothing to celebrate. On top of that moderately good news, the Leapfrog Group found other metrics that measure patient safety and satisfaction have fallen significantly, likely because of hospital staffing shortages and other pandemic-era challenges. "We're encouraged and relieved to see that infections are rapidly decreasing in hospitals following the spike during the pandemic, but we remain very concerned about a number of major problems in hospitals," said Leah Binder, president and CEO of Leapfrog, an independent, national nonprofit founded by large employers and other purchasers. Patient surveys following hospital visits found declines in experiences for the second year in a row in all states. Particularly significant drops were reported in “communication about medicines” and “responsiveness of hospital staff." Preventable errors have been linked to these problems. "Hospitals need to take a hard look at what they are unnecessarily continuing post-pandemic that are not helping patients," Binder said. Read full story Source: USA Today News, 6 November 2023
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Content ArticleData published in the New England Journal of Medicine demonstrates that use of CareFusion’s patient preoperative skin preparation ChloraPrep® (2% chlorhexidine gluconate and 70% isopropyl alcohol) reduced total surgical site infections (SSIs) by 41%, from 16.1% to 9.5%, compared to use of povidone-iodine solution, the most commonly used preoperative skin preparation. In this prospective, randomised and well-controlled outcomes trial designed to compare the efficacy of skin antiseptics in reducing the risk of SSIs, ChloraPrep proved superior in clean-contaminated abdominal, urologic, gynecologic and thoracic surgery. “For nearly a decade, healthcare professionals have relied on the proven efficacy of ChloraPrep,” said Stephen R. Lewis, MD, chief medical officer of CareFusion. “This study is an example of our ongoing commitment to providing clinicians with evidence-based data that clinically differentiates our products in order to help improve patient care and lower costs.”
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Content ArticleRemote digital postoperative wound monitoring provides an opportunity to strengthen postoperative community care and minimise the burden of surgical-site infection (SSI). This study aimed to pilot a remote digital postoperative wound monitoring service and evaluate the readiness for implementation in routine clinical practice. It concluded that remote digital postoperative wound monitoring successfully demonstrated readiness for implementation with regards to the technology, usability, and healthcare process improvement.
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Content ArticleCentral line–associated bloodstream infections (CLABSI) account for many harms suffered in healthcare and are associated with increased costs and disease burden. Central line rounds, like medical rounds, are a multidisciplinary bedside assessment strategy for all active central lines on a unit. The project team designed a HIPAA-protected, text-based process for assessing central lines for risk factors contributing to infection. Staff initiated a consultation via a virtual platform with an interdisciplinary team composed of oncology and infectious disease experts. The virtual discussion included recommendations for a line-related plan of care.
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Content ArticleNHS Wales has published a new report detailing the good progress being made to investigate and learn from hospital-acquired COVID-19 in Wales. Established in April 2022, the National Nosocomial COVID-19 Programme is supporting NHS Wales organisations to carry out a review of nosocomial (hospital acquired) COVID-19 patient safety incidents that occurred between March 2020 and April 2022. The programme has prioritised the investigation of the most complex cases, with an aim to provide as many answers as possible for service users, families, carers and staff impacted by nosocomial COVID-19. The programme also aims to maximise learning opportunities across NHS Wales, to drive quality and safety improvements. Due to the scale of the pandemic, despite being in a healthcare setting, patients in hospital and other in-patient settings faced an increased risk of hospital acquired COVID-19. In its first year, the programme has supported NHS Wales organisations to assess and investigate over 5,000 cases of nosocomial COVID-19, where they meet the definition of a patient safety incident and is on track to have successfully investigated all cases of hospital-acquired COVID-19 by March 2024. Findings in the report include; The value of bereavement support and care-after-death services have for people experiencing grief and signposting to support at the earliest opportunity. The benefits of a single point of contact and support for people navigating the concerns process. The impact of visiting restrictions and visiting considerations should continue to be carefully balanced with risk. Inequities in the concerns process for people who receive healthcare via independent providers. Inconsistent approaches to the management and reporting of health care acquired infections across Wales.The need for improved application and improvement of DNACPR (Do Not Attempt Cardio-Pulmonary Resuscitation. The need for improvement in how Infection prevention and control (IP&C) guidance, is reviewed and communicated to staff. Better communication with families and carers around ward movements.
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News Article
USA: Care quality, safety 'worse than expected' during Covid-19 pandemic
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
A new CMS report reveals disparities in care quality and patient safety within US hospitals before and during the pandemic, finding "a large proportion of measures had worse than expected performance." CMS released its 2024 National Impact Assessment Feb. 28, which is released every three years and evaluates the measures used in 26 CMS quality and value-based incentive payment programs. This edition of the report compares quality measure scores pre-COVID-19 with hospitals' results in 2020 and 2021, the initial years of the COVID-19 public health emergency. Here are eight findings from the 72-page assessment: 1. During 2020 and 2021, a large proportion of measures had worse than expected performance, including significant worsening of key patient safety metrics. 2. Half or more of the performance measures in five priorities had worse results in 2021 than expected from the 2016–2019 baseline. Priorities with the highest proportions of worse-than-expected results in 2021 were wellness and prevention (69%), behavioural health (55%), safety (54%), chronic conditions (52%), and seamless care coordination (50%). 3. Specific to safety, standardised infection ratios worsened significantly in hospitals for central line–associated bloodstream infections (94% worse), MRSA (55% worse) and CAUTI (34% worse). Before the Covid-19 PHE (2015–2019), 34,455 fewer healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) were reported in acute care settings. 4. More than 35% of measures in two priorities had better results in 2021 than expected from 2016–2019 baseline trends. Those priorities are seamless care coordination (50%) and affordability and efficiency (38%). 5. Specific to affordability and efficiency, emergency department visits for home health patients fared 1.4 percentage points better, and acute care hospitalization in the first 60 days of home health in 2021 was 1.5 percentage points better. 6. Accountable entities with the highest proportions of worse than expected results in 2021 were clinicians (64%), accountable care organizations (54%), and acute care facilities (54%). 7. Wellness and prevention had the highest percentage of measures showing health equity disparities; notable examples include pneumococcal and influenza vaccinations among racial and ethnic groups. 8. Comparison racial and ethnic groups fared worse than the White reference group on 40 of 45 (88.9%) affordability and efficiency measures and 32 of 41 (78%) chronic conditions measures. For example, disparities were recorded for Black or African American patients in 32, or 71%, of the affordability and efficiency measures, mostly related to readmissions. Read full story Source: Becker Hospital Review, 29 February 2024 -
EventuntilThe aim of this webinar is to share, engage and discuss with clinicians, patient safety managers, patients and leaders the latest standards. There will be 2 sessions: 17.30: Session 1 – NatSSIPs 2: what it is and why it matters Welcome and introduction The CPOC perspective The Patient Safety Learning perspective Photo review of why NatSIPPs matters The patient perspective What is new in NatSIPPs 2? Resources to support Implementation: Checklists, infographics Q&A 18.30: Session 2 – NatSSIPs 2: implementation, practical insights and tips Our NatSIPPs 2 Workshop and how to consider a NatSSIPs gap analysis Team training for NatSIPPs 2 Q&A Register
