The latest Reducing HCAIs conference, Supporting community health, takes place at the Brewery, London, on the 10 October. The Clinical Services Journal provides a preview of the topics that will be discussed.
April 2013 saw patient safety become the responsibility of NHS England, and with a million people using the healthcare service every 36 hours, this is a major responsibility. The NHS Outcomes Framework set out how the Department of Health will measure the success of NHS services, including how well they treat and care for people in a safe environment and protect them from avoidable harm. By working with NHS England, the Department will strengthen the indicators within the framework, introducing a new measure that reviews individual cases to identify how many patients experienced problems. Other indicators include the number of:
• Patient safety incidents reported.
• Serious patient safety incidents reported.
• Healthcare-associated infections (for example superbugs like MSRA).
• Incidents in which children are harmed because of a failure to monitor them properly.
Hospital-acquired infections, including surgical site infections (SSIs), cause anxiety and discomfort, complicate illness and delay recovery. It has been estimated that the annual cost nationally is almost £1 billion and £56 million of this is estimated to be incurred after patients are discharged from hospital. In addition to increased costs, each one of these infections means additional use of NHS resources, greater patient discomfort and a decrease in patient safety. The focus regarding healthcareassociated infections (HCAIs), therefore, must be widened. Excellent results have been achieved in the reduction of MRSA bloodstream and Clostridium difficile infections, but has this focused approach ultimately resulted in increased rates of SSIs, MSSA and E. coli? The Chief Medical Officer’s Report published on 11 March 2013 came with another stark warning that global action is needed to tackle the catastrophic threat of antimicrobial resistance, which in 20 years could see any one of us dying following minor surgery. In addition to encouraging development of new drugs, the report highlights the importance of looking after the current supply of antibiotics. This means using better hygiene measures to prevent infections, prescribing fewer antibiotics and making sure they are only prescribed when needed. One of the 17 recommendations of the Chief Medical Officer’s report stated that:
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