Nosocomial infections are infections that occur within forty-eight hours of being admitted in hospital, three days of discharge or thirty days of a surgery. Most prominent ones are pneumonia, urinary-tract infection, surgical and bloodstream infection. In the previous years, research indicated that at minimum 5% of patients develop nosocomial infections. With the increased use of invasive procedures, current research shows that more than 8% of patients now acquire nosocomial infections. Acquisition of the infection causes the patient to stay in hospital 2.5-times longer than expected and consequently incur extra costs (Ken & Alison, 2013). In extreme cases, the infections lead to death. The infections are currently prevalent in many hospitals. Good Health Hospital has not been spared in this.
The health records of Good Health Hospital reveal the following appalling statistics about the people who acquired nosocomial infections in 2012.
Out of all the patients who visited the hospital, 8.6% acquired nosocomial infections. 20.6% of patients in the ICU were particularly at a high risk of conducting the infection as a result of the use of invasive procedures and mechanical ventilation (Ken & Alison, 2013). Poor hand hygiene is cited as being responsible for 40% of the infections spread in Good Health Hospital. Infections are high in crowded wards than in the other wards. Out of the patients, 10.5% died last year and the majorities are infants.
Patients from poor localities make up a large portion of the patients who develop the infection after leaving the hospital. This is due to the kind of environment they are predisposed to and the challenges in the particular environments.
Out of the patients diagnosed with nosocomial infections, 30.50% are children below the age of 15. 28% of the patients are people in the age bracket 15-58. 54.22% of Patients diagnosed with nosocomial infections are people beyond the age of 58 years. It therefore appears that children, adolescents and people at old age are at a high risk of contracting nosocomial infection due to their fledgling immunity. Among the patients 51.40% are men (Ken & Alison, 2013). The records indicate that the infection gained prevalence in 2012 as compared to the previous years. From the record it is apparent that ones’ tribe or ethnicity does not affect the rate of acquiring the infection since the statistics are correspondingly distributed among the various ethnic groups. However, the records also reveal that most people acquire the infection unknowingly band its only after being diagnosed with the infection that they start to engage themselves in deep-thinking in a bid to figure out how they acquire the infection. People with underlying diseases or chemotherapy are also at a high risk of contracting the disease (Wenzel, 2013).
1. Under what conditions can one sue the medical personnel after developing nosocomial infections? The answer to this question will help individuals who develop the infection to know exactly when to sue the medics if they develop the infection. It is common for the medical personnel to act in a manner that drifts from the anticipated standard of care (Wenzel, 2013). It is common for patients to acquire the infection due to a fault on the medical personnel. The administrator might hint some activities or instances that portray negligence that amount to an offence punishable by law.
2. Who should investigate the claims once it is reported? This question will provoke the administrator to hint how the process of investigations is undertaken. Is it the attorney who will reveal the circumstances that led to the acquisition of the infection or should actually come to the ground and investigate the claim? This kind of explanation will help the patients who might develop the infection to know exactly how to seek justice for the medical personnel misdoing and have some light of what to expect.
3. Can the authorities sue hospitals that fail to implement technologies, techniques and procedures meant to reduce nosocomial prevalence? This will indicate whether the government really cares for the Indians and if it enforces policies.
4. Can a nurse who develops nosocomial infection sue the hospital? The rationale behind this question is that medics such as nurses often develop nosocomial infections. The answer will tipoff the whether it should it be regarded as an injury at work or as a nosocomial infection and if the nurse will obtain any damages by suing the hospital and the hospital found to have contributed to the acquisition of the infection. Nurses too should be assured of a safe working environment (Ken & Alison, 2013).
5. Can the government take any legal action against hospitals that do not have enough nurses to take care of patients in the hospital? It is known that a nurse have the responsibility to take care of a large number of patients to the extent that they can hardly manage the task. This greatly compromises the safety of patients since nurses mishandle treatment equipment leading to the spread of nosocomial infections (Wenzel, 2013).
6. Should scientists take responsibility for failing to develop drugs that suppress the pathogens that cause nosocomial infections? This will hint to the various pathogens that cause nosocomial infections, their nature and if anything can be done to reduce the prevalence of the pathogens and parasites that transmit the infections.
Prepare an implementation plan.
The hospital health care administrator claimed that the rate of nosocomial infections in Good Health Hospital was growing at an alarming rate. This made me to settle on an implementation plan known as nosocomial infection surveillance that will be used to monitor the infections. Nosocomial Infection Surveillance will monitor all the Hospital Acquired Infections (HAI) and identify the problems and risks associated with the condition. The Surveillance program will be used to control the HAI as well as decrease the frequency.
The implementation plan will be based on improving the quality and safety in healthcare as well as identify the need to fix the control measures. An active surveillance will be on track in monitoring changes in infectious risks. The broad objectives of the implementation plan will be to reduce both the costs and the rates of nosocomial infections. The surveillance program will have the following specific objectives: create the awareness to all hospital workers on preventive actions on nosocomial infections, monitor the incidence, prevalence and the trends of the infections and lastly identify the areas that need to be improved in patient care.
The implementation plan will settle for a valid surveillance system that will monitor and track all the Nosocomial Infections. The specific objectives will be outlined and the duration for surveillance will be included. In the plan, the hospital units, services offered the patients and the specific care areas will determine the data to be captured by the Surveillance system. \
The information needs will be identified, and the indicators will be highlighted. The corrective measures will be the outcome of a proper surveillance system. The implementation plan will ensure the surveillance system consists of the following components:
A defined population of the units and patients under monitoring
- Different types of infections and the information to be collected
- The frequency and duration of monitoring
- The data collection methods
- Analysis of data, the feedback as well as dissemination of information
- Confidentiality and concealment
The program will ensure that it reports to the hospital administration so that a budget to control the nosocomial infections can be allocated.
The implementation plan indicates how the Good Health Hospital will be required to compare data on Nosocomial Infections but they must ensure that they are confidential. This will help the Hospital to improve on standards development. The hospital will be able to detect the trends and offer the best solutions in monitoring the infections.
Nosocomial Infection Surveillance implantation plan outlines the methods for data collection, the analysis, the interpretation, the feedback and dissemination. This helps in formulating preventive measures that will curb the rate of infections. The plan will have a detailed protocol that will consist of the data collection methods and how the reports will be combined.
The implementation plan will be used to evaluate the progress and point out the areas of improvement. The Nosocomial Infection Surveillance will provide the needed information that will help in daily operations. The clinical staff will be incorporated in the system as they are very critical in data collection. The surveillance system will help in developing action plans that will help to reduce the high rates of nosocomial infections. An adequate and well developed staffing will be important in successful implementation of the surveillance system.
Propose four steps that will be useful in the final implementation plan.
- Defining goals, the surveillance protocol and the data collection procedures
- Analysis of data, interpretation and giving feedback and dissemination
- Prevention methods that include decisions and corrective actions
- Evaluating the impact of nosocomial infections by trends detected by the surveillance program
Five recommendations
- The hospital must conduct training sessions for all its employees about the nosocomial infections
- There is also need to isolate the infected patients from the healthy ones to prevent transmissions
- The nurses must ensure that the patients maintains a good personal hygiene and always avoid hand decontamination
- The clinical staff must be trained on the best ways to capture and collect useful information to be used by the surveillance system.
- The hospital environment must be kept clean to avoid low levels of hygiene and transmission of infections.
The recommendations will help Good Health Hospital to reduce the rates of nosocomial infections and increase the quality care of patients. The surveillance system will be of use when correct data is captured and the presence of redundant data is done away with.
Design a safety protocol itinerary
- Frequent washing of hands prevents an individual from infections
- After using the Toilet, flush it with plenty of water
- Avoid dropping items that will destroy the Hospital clean environment
- Do not share personal equipment’s like towels, needles and pins.
References
Ken, I. & Alison, P. (2012, October 13). Nosocomial infections. Retrieved October 27, 2013, from http://ceaccp.oxfordjournals.org/content/5/1/14.full
Wenzel, R. P. (2013). Prevention and control of nosocomial infections. Baltimore: Williams & Wilkins.
Büttner, P., & Muller, R. (2011). Epidemiology. South Melbourne, Vic: Oxford University Press.
Wenzel, R. P. (1987). Prevention and control of nosocomial infections. Baltimore: Williams & Wilkins.
