Nosocomial Infections at the Hospital - Case Study Example

Hospital Evaluation Report al Affiliation) Nosocomial infections at the hospital Nosocomial infections are those that areacquired are those that are acquired by patients either within 48 hours of admission, 3 days after discharge or within thirty days of undergoing an operation (Block, 2008). Research shows that these types of infections affects 10% of individuals who are admitted at health institutions while resulting to the death of upto 5000 patients on an annual basis. In any given hospital setting it is the patients in the Intensive Care Unit who have higher chances of contracting these types of infections (Bennett, 2010). Some of the infections that have occurred within the past year at the facility include the E Coli infection that infected 6 patients at the hospitals Ward 10. Records at the institution also show that there was infection of Fever, coughs and foul smelling urine in various other wards during the same year. Most of the patients who reported high fever were the patients in the intensive care unit but this lasted only a week before it the situation was stabilized. There were 3 patients at the ICU at that time, two males and a female and they recorded high temperatures from late at night till early morning.The other outbreak of these infections was in the pediatric ward, Ward 5 where there was a breakout of cough infections. At the time, the ward had 12 patients, 8 boys and 4 girls. The infection started with a small boy and within a week 7 other patients at the ward had already been put under cough medication. The situation was stabilized in two weeks as the records show this is when the cough treatment stopped. Questions to the administrator of the hospital What is the extra cost incurred by the hospital due to these infections? The treatment of these infection results in an increased expenditure by the hospital. It is therefore important to determine who will bear the costs of this treatment, whether it is the patients, the hospital or if it will be shared by both of them. Who incurs the cost of these treatments? Even though the patients did not come to the facility with these diseases, they will have to be treated as soon as the symptoms are noticed. The patients can then decide not to pay the extra cost for this extra medication by claiming that the cost was due to negligence by the staff and therefore the cost of treatment lies with the hospital. Are patients made aware of these infections? The issue of whether the patients should be informed of these infections should also be discusses. This is because they might occur without the knowledge of the patients who might think it is just another infection related to their current situation. If they are made aware of these conditions they can sue the hospital for negligence, on the other hand if the patients become aware of this infections in future they might also sue the institution and blame it on their other recurrent medical conditions. What are the patients’ rights in regards to these situations? Once a patient has been informed of an infection, can they air their opinion in regards to which way they would like to handle the situation. Some patients would request to be transferred from one facility to the next. It is important that they have these options presented to them and they make a choice. Are the doctors and nurses liable for transmission? Most of these infections are usually transmitted from one individual to another. The most common ways by which transmission of these infections is through direct contact by the medical practitioners. This raises the question of whether the nurses or doctors at any given time can be held personally liable for an outbreak of these diseases that may occur under their watch. What is the duty of the hospital after realizing these infections exist? Once the authorities are aware of these infections there are various ways that they can deal with this situation. This is very important as it affects their relationship with their clients while also ensuring that the rights of the patients are not violated. Implementation plan This implementation plan is targeted at the health staff to ensure that all the measures are put in place to ensure that the patients’ safety is guaranteed during their stay at the facility. Such secondary infections can be fatal and should be avoided at all costs. As such, the following four steps can be very useful. Increased surveillance at the facility This refers to constant collection, analysis and interpretation of the health situation at the facility (Root, 2011). Ideally, this is to be done by trained medical staff and involves constant evaluation of the health information so as to note any risk areas and try to come up with measures to prevent these opportunistic infections from coming up. This is meant to reduce the rate of infection as a result of these infections. Prevention measures It has been determined that these infections can be caused by several factors that can be prevented (Block, 2008). This can be by the introduction of these safety measures such as easier access to hand washing equipment at the facility. These should not be soap based but should be alcohol based so that all the disease causing infections are dealt with before they cause any harm to other patients. It has also been proven that medical practitioners have higher chances of transmitting these infections from one patient to other patients. Another preventive measure is to keep patients who have been diagnosed with these conditions to be kept in seclusion to reduce the chances of them contracting these infections to other patients. Staff should be provided with the necessary equipment such as protective garments that will limit the contact of body fluids. These include the use of gloves, aprons and masks to prevent any transmission of fluid based or aerial based infections.It has further been established that when invasive procedures are used during diagnosis there is an increase in the risk of these infections. It is therefore recommended that some specific sites be used so as to minimize this risk. An example is the use of Subclavian vein in place of femoral veins. Staff awareness talks It has been established that most infections are due to negligence by the staff. It is therefore important to sensitize the hospital staff in regards to the cleanliness procedures at the facility. This means putting in place standard operating procedures in regards to the handling of clients and the cleanliness procedures that are to be used to handle the patients. These standards act as a reference point to the staff and in case they are unsure of what procedures to follow. This should not be a one-time affair but should be done on a regular basis so that these standards become part of their daily routine. Rotational antibiotics therapy Patients usually develop resistance to certain drugs after using them for a long time. This can cause secondary infections (Russell, 2012). The hospital staff should therefore withdraw commonly used antibiotics after certain time intervals so that the patients do not develop resistant tendencies to these drugs. Research shows that the constant use of one type of antibiotics results to the emergence of a resistant bacteria strain Recommendations Random checks to ensure that the staff, maintain the required standards. In the course of their daily operations and due to multiple tasks, the staff might not remember to change certain clothing or sterilize equipment that can lead to increased infection. This can cause be a health hazard to the other patients. There should be constant checks to ensure that staff are properly equipped and in the right type of clothing at all times. Constant sanitation of all the materials Most of the equipment in use by the hospitals may be regularly sanitized. However, in times of emergencies it is common for equipment to be mixed and the required care is not maintained. It is during such periods that infections are likely to be transmitted from one patient to the next. Such instances should therefore be listed as high risk periods and proper care should be given to ensure that all the materials are properly sanitized. Proper screening of all suppliers It has been noticed that some infections were due to poor standards by the suppliers and was not as a result of negligence by the hospital itself. As such, all future suppliers to the hospital should be properly screened to ensure they maintain the required standards of the hospital. Antibiotic supplier rotation The hospital should source for a wide range of antibiotics from different suppliers so that there are reduced cases of drug resistance. In this way the medication can be much more effective and there is a low probability of these secondary infections coming up. Constant meetings The only way that staff can learn about the operations in all areas of the hospital is by communicating. There should be regular meetings where all staff is invited to discuss the health situation at the hospital and provide recommendations that are important. This can be an important avenue for sharing information such as about the outbreak of secondary infections while also increasing awareness among the staff. Safety Protocol itinerary The following safety protocol itinerary should be kept in public access areas of the hospitals to act as aguideline for use by both the staff members and visitors to the hospital. All people should wash their hands after handling any equipment within the facility Staff should be dressed in the proper attire at all times and should use gloves when handling all patients Patients suffering from coughs or any other infectious diseases should be isolated and kept away from the public. No foodstuffs are allowed within the hospital premises Contact between patients and the general public should be kept at a minimum as much as possible. All equipment should be sterilized before use and after use at all times. References Foley, S.Chen, A. (2011). Molecular Techniques for the Study of Hospital Acquired Illnesses. Oxford University Press Block, S. (2008).Disinfection, Sterilization and Preservation. Wolters Kluwer Health Russell, J. (2012). Nosocomial Infection. Book on Demand Root, R. (2011). Clinical Infectious Diseases: A Practical Approach. Oxford University Press Bennett, J. (2010). Hospital Infections. Wolters Kluwer Health Read More