Guide to Hospital Acquired Infections Brought to You by The MATER PRIVATE HOSPITAL.
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With the constant barrage of media attention about MRSA and hospital acquired infections,
http://www.hpsc.ie/hpsc/A-Z/MicrobiologyAntimicrobialResistance/ there is little wonder that so many people are turning towards private care, and the Private Health Industry is enjoying an enormous boost.
There's no doubt about it, treatment in a private infection. Here's why: private hospitals have lower bed occupancy, nursing staff are under less pressure and patients are more likely to have their own private rooms with en-suite bathrooms lowering the risk of cross-infection. Furthermore, a higher nurse-to-patient ratio ensures a higher quality of care, and with more money and more staff resources private hospitals can operate a robust infection surveillance programme and ongoing staff training to minimize infections and carry out isolation procedures if a patient is an MRSA carrier.
But if you can't afford to go private, what's the solution?
Advice for patientsGenerally speaking, healthy people are at a low risk of contracting a healthcare associated infection like MRSA, including pregnant women and children, but if you are going into hospital you can take some measures. Before going into hospital start using a bactericidal soap and shampoo and continue while there, always washing or cleaning your hands after visits to the bathroom and before/after meals and wearing shoes or slippers when walking around.
Insist that the area around your hospital bed is cleaned if it looks unclean and ask the medical staff whether they have washed their hands before touching you. Ultimately, MRSA is no more infectious than other SA infections, but good hygiene is essential to prevent it spreading.
What happens if a patient has MRSA?
Most patients who have MRSA are colonised and only about one in five will develop an infection. Once MRSA has been detected, it is important that certain measures are taken to de-colonise (remove the MRSA bacteria from the skin or other sites) the patient and to limit any further spread of bacteria.
Patients with MRSA are usually moved to a single room or dedicated isolation ward to prevent the spread of the organism to other patients and staff.
Staff will wear gloves and gowns to help prevent contamination of their skin and clothes (and thus further spread of the bacteria to other patients and staff members). Gloves and gowns should be changed for each patient encounter.
Good hygiene is essential for the control of MRSA and other infections. Staff and visitors alike should be careful to wash their hands thoroughly before and after visiting a patient (this is good practice regardless of whether the patient has MRSA or not). Soap and warm water or alcohol rubs are provided for this purpose. MRSA is NOT a problem for people visiting sick relatives or friends.
In order to remove the MRSA bacteria from the skin or nose of affected patients, an antibiotic cream may be applied topically or the patient may be give disinfectant soap or powders to use each day.
If a patient has an infection due to MRSA, appropriate antibiotic treatment will be started, e.g. with vancomycin, teicoplanin or another appropriate antibiotic.
Swabs will be taken intermittently from sites where the bacteria are typically found (e.g. nose, throat, groin, any wounds). These are tested for the presence of MRSA. Usually three consecutively clear sets of swabs are required before a patient is considered to be free from MRSA. However, patients will not have to stay in hospital until 3 screens are obtained. If they are fit to go home the swabs can be carried out on an outpatient basis.
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