Infection Control - Is It Only Skin Deep
06/11/2006 - 06/11/2006
Despite the government making infection control one of its top priorities rates of Healthcare-Association Infections (HCAIs) continue to rise and remain the biggest fear amongst patients going into hospital. We see this fear on an almost daily basis in our helpline and continue to campaign for real action to be taken by the government, including the prioritisation of infection control targets.
On 6th November 2006 we launched our report “Infection Control – Is It Only Skin Deep?’ in which we surveyed those involved in Infection Control across the country. The result were shocking and showed that over 90% of respondents had to spend clinical time reassuring patients worried about catching healthcare association infections and nearly half (45%) said that not all relevant staff were adequately trained in infection control practices.
The event took place at the House of Commons and was widely attended by Infection Control nurses, MPs and Government representatives. The Patients Association's Head of Special Projects, Vanessa Bourne presented the report followed by questions to our attending Infection Control specialists. We are grateful to Enturia for their support of the project via an educational grant.
Director of Communications at the Patients Association, Katherine Murphy said, “Patients are entitled to a safer, more secure system for combating healthcare associated infections. The NHS cannot afford the waste caused by this situation – wasted money, wasted patient recovery time – bed blocking – and wasted professional time.
