INFECTION CONTROL IN A NURSING HOME. Infection Control refers to policies and procedures used to minimize the risk of spreading infections in hospitals and nursing homes. The purpose of infection control is to reduce the occurrence of infectious diseases. These diseases are usually carried by bacteria or viruses and can be spread by human to human contact. Can be spread by touch, coughs and colds, it is good practise to cover your mouth and nose when coughing or sneezing and washing your hands after, disposing of any tissues in bins.
For example when assisting a service user to have a bath, shower or to use the toilet you must always wear the PPE (personal protective equipment) provided when removing any soiled clothing you must dispose of it in the correct way using the sluice bags that are provided and the sluice bags should be tided shut thus preventing any infection among other service users clothes. Any PPE used should be disposed of in the room you have used and before leaving that room employees must ensure they wash their hands using the correct hand washing method displayed. Another responsibility employees have is to prepare and maintain environment before and after patient care making sure all PPE is worn if there are any bodily fluids in the room i.e. on the floor sink etc this spiliage should be cleaned up immediately using the appropriate disinfectant cleaning products to prevent any infection spreading such as MRSA, C Diff and the norovirus. Q: 1.2 Explain employers’ respsonsibilitys in relation to the prevention and control of infection.
Deciding when to decontaminate your hand can be a little bit daunting. This is why, therefore, guidelines have been made to highlight the four key factors in hand hygiene to help workers and patients decide when to decontaminate their hands. Healthcare workers needs to anticipate the level of contact with patients or objects to eliminate the chance of developing further pathogen related disease. Furthermore, workers also need to foresee the extent of contamination that can occur with the contact and patient’s various care activities being performed (Boyce and Pittet, 2002, Pratt et al, 2001). There is without doubt, that these factors have set a foundation to promote a safe hand hygiene practice without guessing when and where to decontaminate.
Hospital-acquired infections are preventable and preventing them is straightforward: a code of cleanliness. Hands should be cleaned frequently with an anti-bacterial soap for at least 30 seconds. Gowns, masks and gloves should be worn frequently so that pathogens aren’t transmitted to the patient during treatment. Moreover, when moving a patient, the patient should wear a mask and should be moved only when necessary (Isolation Precaution Guidelines for Hospitals n.d.). People go to the hospital in order to get better from whatever ailment is troubling them.
They must also wash hands after using the toilet and before handling food. At all times they must be wearing appropriate PPE and must follow the procedures of disposing of waste safely. They must keep contact items clean and must always report any potential hazards. These things are a part of the code of conduct for care workers and they help with minimising the risk of an outbreak of infection. Care workers have a role in reporting infections or disease outbreaks.
Hand washing with soap & warm water should remove these transient organisms before they are transferred to surfaces, another patient or to a susceptible area on the same patient. In addition to washing with soap and water an alcohol rub will increase the removal of transient bacteria and should be used prior to clean or aseptic procedures, e.g. dressing changes, giving injections. Using an alcohol rub is a useful alternative when the hands are not visibly dirty, or when adequate hand washing facilities are not available. It is important that hand washing is carried out correctly to prevent the spread of infection.
All gloves and aprons that have been worn should be removed and disposed of correctly. All soiled items if disposable should be disposed of correctly. Effective hand washing is a good way to prevent infection from spreading. It is also important that all equipment is cleaned correctly to avoid cross infection, this is because infection can spread from one person to another through instruments, linen and equipment. 2: The employer has a responsibility to provide PPE equipment and to ensure the environment in which you work is safe, food preparation areas are clean and maintained to comply with food hygiene legislation.
The home is residents are safeguarded at all time from cross contamination by developing a strict habit of hand washing when hygiene is an issue using protective equipment to stop cross contamination. * 1.2) Employer’s roles and responsibilities- Employer’s must give us the correct training in all areas of infection control and provide us with the correct personal protective equipment to carry out our tasks. The workplace must be a safe environment for all with any risk assessments being recorded and being made aware of in a risk assessment folder. This applies to equipment and possible hazards with any work related activities in the home or for residents on leave. The home should be able to provide the materials and framework to allow the effective running of the home.
If she were to be given comfort care all measures would be done to make her healthy and comfortable besides the invasive aggressive treatments. 2. Strategies that would be implemented to ensure that Mildred has a good death would be everything that does not include curative measures. Pain management would be implemented on an around the clock basis as to ensure that she does not have any breakthrough pain. Keeping the patient clean and keeping up with good hygiene such as bathing and oral care is another important piece.
(www.legislations.gov.uk, Accessed 04/10/13). Training cleaners on how to clean up after the previous patient properly and how the cups and plates should be put away, stops harm because if the cleaners had more training and cleaned up properly, there would be less infection being spread as there would be less bacteria around the ward. It also maintains the respect and dignity that should be provided for the patients that are cared for. If the recommendation was not reached, patients would be harmed by catching viruses and infection. In this case, if a patient in the ward was to catch one off these infections from dirty cups, it would be harder for them to recover due to them being elderly and having a lower immune system than someone that was young and healthy, so in some cases little infections like this from been given a dirty cup to drink from can sometimes lead to death.