Kalpesh Shah outlines the issues that need to be considered when implementing a purified water system.
Infection control in hospitals and other healthcare facilities has to be approached on many fronts. This includes ensuring best practice from staff, robust cleaning procedures, good pre-operative preparation, post-operative care and patient education. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) figures show that around 1 in every 16 patients admitted to hospital contracts an infection. The most common of these are respiratory (including pneumonia and lower respiratory tract infections), urinary tract and surgical site infections.1 These infections not only risk the health of the patients and impact their recovery time but also put a strain on hospital resources including staff and bed capacity.
Preventing the spread of infections is especially important due to the risk of outbreaks of antimicrobial resistant pathogens. This is one of the most serious issues facing modern healthcare facilities. Among the highest profile of these is Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus (MRSA), which, lives harmlessly on the skin of around 1 in 30 people and only becomes a serious issue when it enters the bloodstream,2 Clostridium difficile (C. difficile) and Escherichia coli (E. coli). However, there are a number of other resistant pathogens that are a threat in hospitals such as Methicillin Sensitive Staphylococcus aureus (MSSA), which hit a peak Between 2015 to 2016 with 10,586 cases reported across NHS facilities.3 Also, in recent years, Vancomycin Intermediate Staphylococcus Aureus (VISA) and Vancomycin Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus (VRSA) have become more common.
Instrument decontamination
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