Board to hear update on control of infection

[Nwicker60]

Test to detect Clostridium Difficile going well

THE Board of NHS Highland will get an update at their next meeting, being held on 14^th August, on actions to improve prevention and control of spread of infection as part of its routine Infection Prevention and Control report.
Members will hear that a more sensitive test for the detection of Clostridium difficile was introduced in May to Raigmore, as well as other hospital sites across Highland, with the aim of improving detection rates.
Introducing the test was one of the recommendations from the Significant Event Review (SER) which took place following an outbreak of Clostridium difficile in Raigmore in January. The Board had a report on the SER at their last meeting (July). This included a summary of the recommendations made by the SER.
Heidi May, NHS Highland Board Director of Nursing, said: “The new test and sampling has been going well and, as expected we are now able to detect higher numbers of patients who are infected.
“This is really helping us identify all the patients who have Clostridium difficile. As a result we can take necessary actions to appropriately assess and treat patients and prevent the spread of infection. There is no question that this new approach will improve patient safety.”
A new cleaning regime is also being used in the Raigmore. This uses a chlorine based disinfectant which is much more effective at controlling the infection.
While the introduction of the new arrangements are generally working well it is taking longer to do the actual cleaning. Monitoring showed that as a result of this some other tasks were not being done thoroughly enough, for instance dusting. This has now been addressed by increasing the number of hours allocated to cleaning to ensure the improvements in one area don’t compromise cleanliness in another.
Ms May said: “Overall the new arrangements are working well and we can see the improvements. Nursing and domestic staff have worked very hard to get this right but it has taken us a few weeks to work out the best cleaning regime and the right level of staffing.”
Healthcare Environment Inspectorate (HEI) carried out an unannounced visit to Raigmore on 26 and 27 June. The report which is published today, makes nine recommendations, highlighting a number of issues that fell below the required standards, including poor dusting.
While these findings are obviously disappointing many of the findings were consistent with the actions already identified by the SER. An updated action plan to address areas for improvement has been prepared including taking on the additional points raised by the Inspectorate.
Una Lyon, Lead Nurse for Raigmore Hospital , said: “The Senior Management Team is obviously very concerned about the findings from the HEI report, which highlights areas where practice has fallen below the standard we would expect and this is unacceptable. Where necessary immediate action has been taken to address the issues and the team are actively implementing the action plan to ensure that the improvements are made and sustained.”