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Action plan to tackle hospital infections
26/11/2007
A multi-million pound increase in funding to tackle healthcare associated infection (HAI), including the establishment of a national MRSA screening programme, has been announced.
The third HAI delivery plan will see £54 million invested over the next three years in a raft of measures to combat hospital infections.
The plan, which will be overseen by the Scottish Government's HAI Task Force, will also see increased monitoring of hand hygiene compliance in the healthcare sector and will "raise the bar" on hospital cleaning standards.
A series of measures will also be introduced to reduce patients' risk of contracting Clostridium difficile, as well as other hospital infections. A C.diff reference laboratory for Scotland has also been set up at Stobhill Hospital, speeding up diagnosis.
This is the first HAI plan based on evidence of the extent of infections in Scottish hospitals, following the first point prevalence survey published earlier this year, which showed the true level of hospital bugs for the first time.
The Scottish Government's new priority areas are to:
- Target skin and soft tissue infections
- Introduce a pilot MRSA screening programme in 2008-09 which will pave the way for a national screening programme from 2009-10
- Develop "care bundles" to ensure that all patients consistently receive the best care or treatment at all times. These will be aimed at reducing Clostridium difficile; catheter infections; ventilator associated pneumonia; surgical site infections; hand hygiene and urinary infections
- Reduce bloodstream infections
- Implement new policies aimed at improving hand hygiene
- Ensure that additional surveillance information is gathered and put to use in the targeted areas of general medicine and care of the elderly
Addressing senior NHS staff at an HAI conference in Clydebank, Cabinet Secretary for Health and Wellbeing Nicola Sturgeon said:
"Today's confirmation that we are massively increasing the amount of investment in tackling hospital infections demonstrates the vital importance the Scottish Government places on tackling hospital infections.
"We should recognise that good progress has been made in reducing hospital infections, but should be under no illusion that more needs to be done. Today's delivery plan is about upping the ante in the fight against hospital bugs.
"Patients and the public can expect the measures I am announcing today will make a real difference.
"The development of an MRSA screening programme demonstrates our determination to tackle one of the main sources of hospital infection. I know this is the right way forward and am convinced screening will reduce the risk of MRSA infection and save lives."
Ms Sturgeon also announced that she wants all NHS boards to reach a target of at least 90 per cent hand hygiene compliance by this time next year.
Health Protection Scotland will also be asked to undertake more regular hand hygiene audits.
Hand hygiene audits involve specially trained staff going into wards and monitoring hand hygiene practices, including how frequently staff wash their hands.
It was also announced today that Health Facilities Scotland, which monitors cleanliness standards in hospitals, is to review the current standards to identify areas where they can be toughened up.
Ms Sturgeon added:
"I will be inviting HPS to hold meetings early in the new year with key players in the infection control teams at NHS boards to look at ways of ensuring that hand hygiene compliance reaches the highest standard possible right across the country.
"In addition, I want regular local campaigns to reinforce the message to staff, patients an visitors that they must wash their hands more often and make more use of the hand gels provided in wards."
£7 million has been allocated to fund a one year pilot MRSA screening programme in 2008-09. A working group of key stakeholders has been established to oversee this project.
The group will decide which board will take the pilot forward.
The HAI Task Force is made up of key stakeholders and members of the public.
The Clostridium. difficile reference lab means that samples no longer have to be sent to the UK laboratory in Wales. This reduces the time it takes for the strain of C.diff to be identified, thus speeding up appropriate treatment for patients.
The first annual report from Health Protection Scotland on mandatory laboratory reporting of C.diff will be produced at the turn of the year. We have also introduced a national mandatory surveillance programme for C.diff.