Infection control at The London Clinic
The London Clinic prides itself on its approach to
cleanliness and infection control. We have a specialist Infection
Control Team, comprising a trained Infection Control Nurse and a
group of microbiologists who are supported by Infection Control
Link Nurses and a fully CPA accredited microbiology
department.
We have well-established policies and procedures in place, in
line with National Infection Control and Decontamination
guidelines. These are aimed at minimising the spread of
infection at every stage of patient care.
Specifically in 2007 we reported:
These figures compare favourably with the figures from the NHS
and other independent hospitals.
Regular audits are undertaken to monitor
standards of cleanliness and we are assessed by The Healthcare
Commission.
Surgical site infection
data
We provide information quarterly to the
Surgical Site Infection Surveillance Scheme (SSISS) co-ordinated by
the Health Protection Agency, looking at large bowel surgery, total
abdominal hysterectomies and total hip replacements. Results from
this are compared with hospitals across the country.
This information has been collected for over
10 years and our infection rates have been consistently low.
In 2007:
|
Abdominal Hysterectomy
Total hip replacement
Large Bowel Surgery
|
- 0% compared with 1.8% nationally
- 0% compared with 2% nationally
- 3.1% compared with 9.1% nationally
|
More clinical outcomes data
MRSA
Staphylococcus aureus is a
bacterium that lives in the nose and sometimes in the groin or
armpits in approximately one third of the population. Usually
it is harmless, but under certain conditions it may cause
infection.
MRSA stands for Methicillin (M) Resistant (R)
Staphylococcus (S) aureus (A). It is a type of Staphylococcus
aureus that is resistant to some of the more commonly used
antibiotics.
People who have MRSA on their bodies or in
their noses but who are unharmed by it are described as being
colonised.
Staphylococcus aureus (including
MRSA) can cause problems when it gets the opportunity to enter the
body and may cause abscesses, boils, wound infections, etc. These
are called local infections. Occasionally the organism may spread
into the body and cause serious infections such as septicaemia
(blood poisoning).
MRSA is resistant to flucloxacillin (a type of
penicillin) and some of the other drugs that are commonly used to
treat infections.
Patients who have MRSA do not look or feel
different from anyone else, and it will not usually harm healthy
people, including pregnant women, children and babies.
At The London Clinic we actively look for MRSA
and take precautions to minimise the spread of any potentially
infectious organism.
On admission, a nurse will take a swab from
the patient’s nose, and from a wound if they have one. These will
be sent to the laboratory. If MRSA is grown, appropriate treatment
will be given.
We take steps to minimise the risk of MRSA
spreading to other patients, so staff will wear gloves and aprons
and decontaminate their hands on leaving the room of a patient with
the organism.
Visitors should also wash their hands or use
the alcohol handrub after visiting the patient.
Most patients who are colonised with MRSA do not have to stay
longer in hospital. However, if the patient has a local infection
or a serious infection, they may have to stay in hospital until
they are well enough to be discharged.
Clostridium difficile (C.
difficile)
The London Clinic has well-established policies and procedures in
place, in line with National Infection Control guidelines. These
policies and procedures support the Health Protection Agency (HPA)
and Healthcare Commission's guidelines encouraging health providers
to minimise the risk to patients of Clostridium
difficile (C. difficile).
C. difficile is nearly always
associated with, and triggered by, the use of antibiotics
prescribed to treat another condition.
Diarrhoea is the most common symptom of the
Clostridium difficile and to date we have a very low
incidence of the infection, and no cases of
cross-infection.
Isolating patients with diarrhoea is standard
practice, and all of our staff place particular importance on hand
hygiene and environmental cleaning.
In the event of infection with C.
difficile the procedures put in place include:
- Isolating all patients with diarrhoea, and
evaluating them for an antibiotic-associated problem
- Implementing and reviewing policies on
antibiotic usage
- Monitoring antibiotic usage