Infection Prevention and Control

Description of Department/Service

Preventing healthcare infections is a challenge for hospitals today.The Infection Prevention & Control Team (IPCT) play a key role in attaining this goal. If patients, visitors and staff adhere to correct infection prevention and control practices, then we can minimise or prevent the risk of transmission of infection to our patients, our visitors and our staff.

We work as a multidisciplinary team with all healthcare workers, patients and visitors to ensure that an effective infection prevention and control service is provided.

The role of the IPCT is to promote best infection prevention and control practice in order to ensure the delivery of a quality service for patients, visitors and staff.

Some of the key functions of the team include:

• Providing expert advice to all departments and staff on the management of infected patients and other infection control issues
• Educating healthcare workers regarding potential risks of infection
• Providing, monitoring and reviewing policies and guidelines for the prevention and control of infection
• Communicating and providing information to the healthcare worker on infection prevention and control
• Educating patients and their relatives regarding infection control precautions and the importance of hand hygiene
• Auditing infection control practices throughout the Hospital

The IPCT give advice on infections and how to prevent them but it is the responsibility of everyone - staff, patients and visitors to ensure that infection prevention and control practices are followed very carefully.

How Can You Help ?

• Use alcohol hand gel/wash your hands
  Alcohol hand gel is provided at the entrance to the Hospital and is located on all wards and in clinical and outpatient areas of the Hospital. Please use the alcohol hand gel before entering and and leaving the hospital. The gel should also be used before and after contact with the patient whom you are visiting. Hand hygiene must be attended to after coughing, sneezing, blowing nose and disposing of tissues.

However it is important for patients, visitors and staff to wash their hands with soap and water if they are soiled after visiting the toilet and if staff advise to do so.  If you have, or have had a health care associated infection in the past such as MRSA, please inform your admitting nurse or doctor.

• Is it ok to ask?
  We encourage patients to ask nurses, doctors and all health care workers if they have cleaned their hands before attending them, if they have not seen them do so.

• Do not clutter up your bedspace
  Patients should co-operate with the hospital cleaners when they want to clean around the bed-space, and keep belongings to a minimum. Please only bring essential items into the hospital and keep them in the lockers provided. There is no storage facility for patients own food. It is recommended not to bring perishables into the ward area

• Wearing shoes / slippers
  Wear slippers when walking around the wards. This keeps your feet clean so that bacteria cannot be transferred from your feet to the bed.

• Inform ward staff
  If you see any dirt,dust, clutter or untidiness either around your bed or in the toilets or bathrooms inform the ward staff. Tell staff immediately if your dressing becomes loose or a wound or intravenous drip site becomes sore or painful.

• Adhere to local Policies on visiting
  Keep visitors to a minimum – close friends and family only. Young children and babies should be discouraged from visiting where possible and only in circumstances when it is in the best interest of the patient or child to visit. Please adhere to the correct visiting times

• Do not sit on beds 
  Visitors should not sit on patients beds, chairs are provided for visitors.

• Isolation 
  Patients with transmissible infections may be cared for in single rooms. The reasons for this should be explained to the patient by their doctor.

• Toiletries 
  Patients should use their own toiletries and not borrow or lend to others. Patients may use their own disposable hand hygiene wipes.

• Let us know 
  Patients are encouraged to report any problems or concerns relating to hospital issues. The clinical nurse manager (CNM) should then contact the infection prevention and control team if the patients concerns relates to Infection Control.

• Visiting Patients 
  Visitors should visit the person they have come to see and not other patients. This will reduce the risk of transferring potentially harmful infections from person to person. If visitors feel unwell or have an infection they should not visit until they are feeling better. They should be free of any symptoms (e.g. vomiting and diarrhoea) for 48 hours before they visit a patient. Visitors should not bring children with them who are ill, especially if they have recent history (within 48 hours) of diarrhoea and or vomiting, this is extremely important as vomiting and diarrhoea can pose a significant problem to patients.

• Reduce the risk of infection 
  Patients and visitors must not touch patient’s wounds, bandages and dressings or medical equipment of any kind.

Leaflets

For further information please click on the links below

Flu (Influenza) Patient Information Leaflet 

Antibiotics are Wasted on Colds & Flu

Aspergillus

Clostridium Difficile (C.diff)

Chickenpox

Clinical Staff Attire

Extended - Spectrum B - Lactamases (ESBL)

Hand,Foot & Mouth Disease

Infection Prevention & Control Team

Intravenous Peripheral Cannula (IPC)

Legionnaires Disease

Measles

Meticillin Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus (MRSA)

Norovirus/Winter Vomiting Bug

Tuberculosis (TB)

The Infection Prevention & Control Team

The Importance of Hand Hygiene

Vancomycin Resistant Enteroccus (VRE)

Carbapeneme Producing Enterobacteriaceae (CPE)

CPE Information Leaflet for Contacts their families and carers

Patient Clothing Bags

AmpC Patient Information Leaflet

Be Aware lets fight infection

A guide while you are in Isolation

Suspect or Positive COVID Patients

Advice for patients who are close COVID contacts

Leaflet re TB contact

Minding Long-Term Health during COVID-19

Mumps

Its Ok to Ask

Scabies

Meningitis

COVID-19 Information

COVID-19 is a new illness that can affect your lungs and airways. It's caused by a virus called Coronavirus and for some people that acquire the virus, it can be very serious. There is a lot of information on symptoms and precautions that you can take.  It is very important to understand and know how to protect yourself and your loved ones it is very important that you get your information from credible sources.

Below are links to materials created by services in TUH which might be helpful for you or a loved one. Please note they are not listed in any particular order. As materials are developed across our services we will continue to add to the content. There are also links where the most update information is available from the HSE and World Health Organisation.

Information from TUH Services
- Neurology Service Advice for Patients with PSP/CBD 
- Geriatric Emergency Department Intervention Team on exercise, supports and mental health
- Memory Assessment & Support Service for carers living with people with dementia and supporting someone living with dementia during Covid-19
- Rheumatology service have detailed information on the Rheumatology Dept page on the TUH website along with this useful leaflet. 
- Advice for patients of the Inflammatory Bowel Diseases Service at TUH and a brief Podcast from Dr. Anthony O'Connor
- Advice for patients who have received Kidney transplants
- Health & Rehabilitation after COVID-19

General Information on COVID-19
Minding Your Longer Term Health Condition During COVID-19 a self management support guide. 

For any children that have to be tested for COVID-19 there are two comics available that explain the process, whether it is a test centre or a drive in centre. 

Advice from the Alzheimer Society including a activity guide and a collation of online resource supports for people with Dementia, families and carers. 

Symptoms of COVID-19

How to self-isolate 

Minding your mental health during COVID-19

Common questions about COVID-19 answered by the World Health Organisation

Myth busters from the World Health Organisation on COVID-19

The Health Protection Surveillance Centre is Ireland's specialist agency for the surveillance of communicable diseases

COVID-19 Public Information Pack

COVID vaccine advice for rheumatology patients

What Are We Doing ?

• Hand hygiene

As you come into our hospital you will hear a voice over reminding everyone to use the hand gels provided and to wash their hands. Alcohol hand gel is available on all wards, clinical areas and outpatient departments for use by staff, patients and visitors. We use highly visible posters to raise awareness of the importance of good hand hygiene by staff, patients and visitors. Hand hygiene is the most effective method of preventing the spread of infection.

• Environmental Hygiene

Regular cleaning ensures that micro-organisms are not allowed to build up in the environment. Extra cleaning and disinfection is carried out if there is high risk of infection.

• Audit

Hand hygiene audits and environmental hygiene audits are carried out regularly throughout the hospital.

• Staff Training

We provide training to staff on hand hygiene and the principles of infection prevention & control. This training is provided to hospital staff on orientation to the hospital and through an ongoing education programme.

• Surveillance

We have surveillance systems to monitor Healthcare Associated Infections (HCAI) which allow us to identify risks and implement control measures to prevent spread of infection to other patients.

• Isolation

Patients who have HCAI which could spread to other patients are isolated in single rooms whenever possible.

• Standard & Transmission Based Precautions

Hand hygiene and the wearing of protective clothing helps to prevent the transmission of infection.

• Antibiotic Stewardship

Antibiotic Stewardship is the careful management of the way we use antibiotics to ensure prudent and effective antibiotic therapy. The way a hospital uses antibiotics can have an impact on antibiotic resistance. We carefully monitor our usage of antibiotics to ensure that they are used in the most effective way possible. Our Antibiotic Stewardship Programme also aims to make sure that we do not use antibiotics unnecessarily.