News £4000,000 infection busting hospital bid
Two local health trusts in the area are to benefit from more than £400,000 of funding to tackle infection in hospitals and health centres.
North Lincolnshire and Goole Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (FT), which runs Goole Hospital, will receive £325,000 to invest in training nurses and doctors in infection reduction and bringing in new equipment.
Initiatives to be funded include infection prevention and control co-ordinators, floor signs reminding people to wash their hands, a mobile fumigation unit for decontaminating isolation rooms, upgrading clinical sinks to having sensor taps, and steam cleaners in wards.
A spokesperson for the trust said that none of the co-ordinators would be based in Goole but said that they would work closely with staff there.
The hospital will benefit from the new equipment, although no details are available yet.
Meanwhile, the East Riding of Yorkshire Primary Care Trust (PCT), which commissions services such as GPS, dentist and other 'first contact' services, has been allocated £88,000 to cut the rates of infections such as MRSA and clostridium difficile.
It will allow the PCT to increase capacity within its infection-control team, refurbish any areas that do not comply with infection control standards and provide extra training and equipment.
As part of this, two infection-control nurses/practitioners will be employed for six months to support the delivery of the PCT's Infection Control Plan 2007 - 2009.
Specialist training will be made available to doctors, nurses and other prescribers on the appropriate use of antibiotics and intervals of prescriptions.
The funding will also allow for a root-cause analysis if MRSA or C difficile is identified in a clinical area.
The PCT does not manage any bedded units at Goole Hospital but the funding will be used for GP surgeries and other settings.
Kate Ireland, the PCT's executive nurse, said: "The additional financial support allows the PCT to put its Infection Control Plan into practice more rapidly.
"The plan will help keep the incidences of MRSA and C difficile at their current low levels, even with patient movement between home and community wards.
"We will continue to work closely with acute trusts including Hull and East Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust. This partnership working was praised recently and resulted in the trust being one of the top five most improved in England in terms of reducing levels of MRSA.
"Whilst MRSA is more prevalent in hospitals, our greater challenge now is C difficile, which is more commonly found in community settings. The funding will help the trust prevent and manage outbreaks more effectively and provide a clean and safe environment for patients."
The hospital trust's medical director, Dr Liz Scott, stressed that patients and visitors can help reduce infection by following certain advice:
l Always wash and dry your hands after visiting the toilet and before you eat;
l Do not touch or fiddle with your wound or any device that is in your arm/leg/bladder or other body cavity – for example, a drip or catheter;
l Keep the space around you tidy and uncluttered so that cleaning staff can reach all surfaces to remove dust easily – your visitors or relatives can help you to do this;
l Tell your nurse, the matron or clinical leader, if you spot any dirt or dust on the ward;
l Wash and dry your hands before and after helping other patients;
l Remind staff about hand-washing if they forget (they may use alcohol hand rub nearby as this efficiently cleans hands as an alternative) – don't worry, they won't be offended!
l Ask your visitors to wash and dry their hands thoroughly before and after entering the ward and not to sit on your bed or use the patients' toilets;
l Don't share possessions or equipment with other patients unless it has been cleaned;
l Ask your relatives and friends not to visit in large groups;
l Shower as frequently as you are able to.
Published on 16th August 2007 in News.
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