“We have really worked hard to drive home our messages. The walls of our corridors and wards are covered with pictures of staff demonstrating the importance of thorough hand washing, we have organised regular information roadshows and every morning when we switch on our computers we are reminded again how many days we have gone without a case of MRSA.”
Mandy Bailey
Chief Nurse
UHSM's Infection Prevention campaign pays dividends
UHSM has seen a significant reduction in the number of reported cases of MRSA hospital acquired infections over the last 12 months from 19 to eight. Chief Nurse Mandy Bailey, pictured above, credits the success to greater vigilance and increased awareness among staff and visitors that infection prevention is everyone's responsibility.
The good news comes as the Health Protection Agency publishes annual figures for hospital acquired infections for England and Wales which also show a 35 per cent reduction on last year. Of the 1,898 MRSA cases reported nationally, just over half were among patients presumed to have been infected during their stay in hospital. And for C.difficile, of the 25,604 cases reported in England, again half were acquired in hospital.
Mandy explains, "We have staged the Great Hospital Handwash when more than 1,000 people came together in the car park to practice hand washing techniques to music, and even produced a video featuring Michael Jackson's Beat It classic reworked to highlight infection prevention (see below). This year's target of eight MRSA cases is even more challenging, so we must continue to work together and be even more vigilant."
UHSM's campaign materials have been shared with other hospital trusts and health organisations, and were recently used by the Welsh Assembly's Infection Prevention team at a national event.