This item was published during the term of a previous administration that ended in April 2007
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Online education to help beat 'superbugs'
04/05/2005
A new internet education service provided by NHS
Education for Scotland will give health workers in Scotland
immediate access to latest information on healthcare
associated infections (HAI).
Health Minister Andy Kerr said the initiative, the first
of its kind in the UK, would help in the fight against HAI
by providing frontline NHS staff with knowledge on best
practice for combating hospital infection.
The new HAI online resource will be officially launched
today at a major NHS Education for Scotland conference in
Dunblane entitled Managed Knowledge Networks.
Mr Kerr said:
"Healthcare associated infection is a major concern for
the public and for me. This new online HAI service for NHS
staff, the first of its kind in the UK, will be a vital
educational resource in the fight against HAIs.
"It will provide NHS staff with a single point of access
to a huge bank of up-to-date information on HAIs and allow
them to share expertise on infection control. Staff will
have access at their fingertips to articles, guidelines and
news stories and events related to HAI and will be able to
share experiences.
"This sharing of information on a local and
international level will enable staff to sharpen skills in
infection control. It will also underpin the rapidly
developing programme of HAI education and training for
staff from all disciplines.
"We are investing 15 million pounds to tackle healthcare
associated infections head on. Our infection control
campaign is thorough, relentless and systematic.
"Infection control is everybody's business - NHS staff,
visitors and patients. Small things can make a difference
in controlling infection. If everyone plays their part in
helping to control infection by knowing what is the right
thing to do then rates of HAIs should be reduced."
Key measures in the infection control campaign
include:
- Sisters/Charge Nurses back in charge of ensuring
ward cleanliness
- Every sister/charge nurse to undergo Cleanliness
Champions training in infection control and every
student nurse in Scotland will have the same training
built into their studies.
- Alcohol hand washes by every frontline bed in
Scotland.
- A reinforced system of accountability for Health
Boards - each with a senior infection control manager
answering directly to the Chief Executive.
- Major new research - the most advanced in Europe -
to identify and track down the full range of hospital
bugs. This will enable more effective control measures
and monitoring of progress.
The online HAI education resource is one of many
learning resources provided by the NHSScotland e-library
produced by NHS Education for Scotland. It will be launched
at a NHS Education for Scotland conference called 'Managed
Knowledge Networks - bridging the knowing-doing gap'. The
conference is being hosted at the Hilton Dunblane
Hydro.
Since starting its work two years ago, the HAI Task
Force chaired by Chief Medical Officer (CMO), Dr Mac
Armstrong, has provided guidance and policies for cleaning
and infection control, including programmes for education
and training. The National Cleaning Services Specification
for NHSScotland was first issued in September 2003.
The Task Force has also supported the training of
Cleanliness Champions - drawn from all hospital staff. More
than 300 workers - cleaners, support staff and consultants
are already trained, and NHS Boards are now required to
reach a defined number of Champions. England and Wales have
now expressed interest in following this model.
Scotland's Chief Nursing Officer Paul Martin will
oversee implementation of this infection control campaign.
Provision of alcohol washes at every frontline bed has been
funded to the tune of over 1 million pounds between 2005
and 2006.
Effective action needs to be based on best available
knowledge. Research will be carried out by Health
Protection Scotland in a national prevalence survey to find
out the full extent and types of infection problems in
Scottish hospitals (including MRSA). This will cost an
estimated 560,000 pounds over two years.