How You Can Help?
Preventing healthcare infections is a challenge for hospitals today.The Infection Prevention and 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.
- 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.
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