Infection control at The London Clinic
The London Clinic prides itself on its success
to continually maintain extremely high standards of
cleanliness and infection prevention and control. We have a
specialist Infection Control Team with a registered infection
prevention and control nurse and expert microbiologists who
are supported by infection control link nurses and a fully CPA
accredited microbiology department.
We have policies and procedures which are aimed at minimising
the spread of germs and bacteria at every stage
of patient care. Wash basins are placed on every nursing floor
corridor to ensure not only staff, but also visitors adhere to
our progressive anti-infection initiatives. In addition
antibacterial handrubs are available at all points of patient care
and entrance points to clinical areas. Our policies are in line
with National Infection Prevention and Control
guidelines.
Our statistics
These figures compare favourably with the figures from the NHS
and other independent hospitals. We undertake regular audits to
monitor standards of cleanliness which are assessed by The
Care Quality Commission (formerly The Healthcare Commission,
HCC).
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.
|
2008 |
2007 |
| Abdominal Hysterectomy |
1.7% |
0% |
| - compared
with national average % |
2.5% |
1.8% |
|
Total hip replacement
|
0%
|
0%
|
| - compared with national average
% |
1.2% |
2% |
|
Large Bowel Surgery
|
0.7%
|
3.1%
|
| - compared with national average
% |
10.5%
|
9.1% |
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.
We actively screen patients who stay for at
least one night 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 antibacterial 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