InfectionControl. Thecontinuous spread of infectious diseases has become a big problem inthe world today. The ability of these diseases to be transmitted fromone person to another makes the situation more complicated hencerequiring stringent measures to contain. Infectious disease control,therefore, involves the prevention and control of Jan 01, · Infection control is “evolving rapidly, with the quality as the main focus of the service”. (Horton and Parker,, p 6). In light of this, it is also important to understand how “prevention and control of infections are important concerns for all types of healthcare agencies” (Craven & Hirnle, , p ) Infection Control Essay. This reflective essay is based upon my experience working alongside the Infection Prevention and Control Support Nurses at the general hospital. As part of my learning experience as a 2nd year student nurse is to accompany the infection control nurses when visiting the wards The role of the IPCSN involved teaching, Estimated Reading Time: 6 mins
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Healthcare-associated infections HCAIs can be extremely detrimental in health and social care settings where patients highly susceptible to disease, infection control essay. Infection control is high on the agenda for healthcare providers because of its significance as it safeguards staff, infection control essay, patients and the public, promotes safe environments and practice but also indicates the quality of healthcare given. It is imperative to focus on legislation which applies to the National Heath Service like the NHS Constitution and the Nursing and Midwifery Council infection control essay of conduct. Order custom essay Infection Control Essay on Hand Hygiene with free plagiarism report, infection control essay.
One of the most common practices to lessen the risk of cross-infection is hand hygiene which has reduced overall infection rates in hospitals. Bennett, Jarvis and Brachman Identify your new learning, giving rationale for your choice of this topic The chain of infection should be learnt in order to apply the appropriate infection prevention methods at each point. The process simplifies how microorganisms spread and infection occurs, infection control essay. Reservoirs for possible infectious agents can be environments or people which can be transferred from one area to the next.
Brooker and Nicol, Between the portal of exit and the portal of entry infection control essay is potential for cross-contamination and this is where the need for hand hygiene arises. Damani suggested that the most prevalent cause of cross-infection was transmission pathogens from one patient to another by pathogens occupying the hands of healthcare workers. Contaminated hands easily transmit these microorganisms but so by cleaning hands appropriately hospitals can prevent to an extent harm to patients which is a fundamental concept in healthcare, infection control essay.
Storr and Clayton-kent, The hand washing procedure originally outlined by Ayliffe et al has been adapted by many organisations to provide various routines. Then the hands were rinsed with water for seconds and dried with two paper towels for seconds. Ayliffe et all, This raises concerns over the approximates as this will differ from person to person. The procedure itself remains nearly exact except from the addition of turning the tap off with a towel to avoid recontamination and the exact timings are lost, infection control essay. This technique only stated to use running water, however no temperature was specified. Hand Washing for Life advises that water should not infection control essay above ?
F as this temperature would cause hands become damaged by loosing delicate tissues on the skin. This can cause bacteria to become trapped and more difficult to remove, as well as cause pain to the worker, infection control essay. It is a legal requirement for health professions to take the necessary measures to ensure that they protect themselves, which includes their hands and others around them by taking care of their hands. Health and Safety at Work Act Dougherty and Lister give a comprehensive guide to effective hand washing, stating the minimum time to rub lathered hand together is seconds, infection control essay.
The guide recommended that attention should be given to areas that are missed most frequently like between fingers, tips of fingers and thumbs. Single use towels to dry hands infection control essay used in all techniques. Damani suggests that paper towels should be used and also used to turn off taps if hands-free control is not available, infection control essay. An experiment carried out by Redway and Fawdar of the University of Westminster backed up Damani suggestion as drying hands with a paper towel infection control essay the amount of bacteria compared to jet-air dryers and warm-air dryers which caused an increase.
Given that the WHO technique has been used throughout the NHS by National Patient Safety Agency for hand cleaning techniques this would be a reliable technique to follow whilst also taking into consideration the detail given by Dougherty and Lister. How has this learning made a difference to you Being aware of how many infectious opportunistic pathogens can be exposed to patients, which may lay dormant on healthcare workers hands, infection control essay, gives healthcare workers a better understanding of how to assess the risks of when passing infection can occur by referring to the chain of infection.
The chain of infection makes nurses more aware of patients as susceptible hosts. Randle, Coffey and Bradbury. This could worsen their condition, increase length of stay, infection control essay, increase pain and suffering and increase worry and stress. This all causes a massive impact on the economy as HCAIs cost the NHS over the estimated? NAO, Hand hygiene is also a commitment, as a nurse may wash their hands but a commitment must be made to wash them to the standard that is appropriate. Randle, Coffey and Bradbury, infection control essay, In all aspects of infection infection control essay communication must be at the heart of the process so that the right precautions are taken.
Staff and researchers must communicate with each other in order to maintain the same level of knowledge on hand hygiene so that the most up to date method is used. It is important for staff to communicate with patients to teach and improve their own hygiene to ensure the safety of themselves and others around them, infection control essay. It is also key for staff to communicate to patient relatives in order for them to carry out routine hygiene which imperative for hospital or other healthcare settings infection control, infection control essay. Information given would be useful for the public to know to reduce general sickness therefore reducing burden on local NHS services. The actual technique should be addressed to all everyone as if it is not done adequately harmful microbes would still be on the hands and therefore infection can still occur.
How will this learning influence you clinical practice. Applying the knowledge of hand hygiene learnt to clinical practice would mean to risk assess the situation at hand in environment by asking the assessment questions as described by Randle, Coffey and Bradburythen use the five moments given by WHO to demonstrate competence in when to wash or disinfect hands. Nurses will infection control essay influenced by which situation they are placed in, for example when moving from one patient to another hands must be washed by water and liquid soap method WHO, Electing the most effective hand washing technique must be done to successfully remove pathogens so that not to transmitted from one patient to another or one area to another.
The techniques discussed vaguely circle around the same routine with differences in times, in clinical practice these would all influence the nurse whilst performing hand hygiene but the standard practice would be used as it is the technique enforced by the NPSA adapted infection control essay the WHO. The most recently updated hand hygiene method by the NPSA includes the use of alcohol gels, these should not be used as a constant alternative as they would lead to build up and therefore not effective for removing harmful microbes and are not suitable in some cases as they would not remove dirt or organic materials, cause a risk of ignition when handling medical gas cylinders and would not be effective against Clostridium difficile and Norovirus.
Brekle and Macqueen Therefore this would influence workers in clinical practice as alcohol gels should only be used out of these circumstances. Describe how you will continue to develop this learning after this module The research into all hand hygiene methods should be regularly looked over as there will always be improvements to how the NHS handles infection control. One example of this would be the use of non-touch taps, a favourable option by many healthcare providers, but although creating minimal contact with a potentially easily contaminated area to control the outbreak of MRSA it has also led to the potential link between infrared taps and the outbreak of pseudomonas bacteria due to increased surface area in the plumbing of these taps.
Department of Health, This example demonstrates that there will always be constant reviews into infection control so it is important to keep up to date on the latest information on practice available and to comply with the NMC code of conduct. A nurse must take part in additional learning or training to develop competence in hand hygiene practice and to constantly review themselves on their development in order to assess what they could do to improve. Randle, infection control essay, Coffey and Bradbury suggest that ongoing training will always be required in this area of practice. How does this personal and professional development relate to the NMC Code Developing and understanding the appropriate hand hygiene procedures for personal and profession practice is important to comprehend so that the nurse can continue to care of the patient their first concern.
Caring for a patient means to not worsen their health by transmitting infection which could be preventable as by washing hands. It is immensely important for nurses to act within their infection control essay which includes being able to competently hand wash appropriately to control infection as it is vital in performing any act of physical care to patient. Dougherty and Lister All nurses must strive and aspire to remain on top of the developing and constantly modifying information and research on infection control. This also relates significantly to the NMC code which represents that all nurses must maintain and improve their knowledge and skills based on the most up to date information throughout their working infection control essay. Providing high quality infection control at all times applies to the NMC code because it means that the nurse is complying with providing the high standard of practice and care at all times.
How does your topic relate to the NHS Constitution The NHS constitution states the rights and commitments to patients, infection control essay, the public and the staff. Department of Health, The topic of hand washing relates to this document because the NHS constitution is the integral laws to which the NHS strives to stand by and infection control is high on constantly infection control essay the agenda for the NHS to improve upon. The terms safe and effective relate to hand hygiene as nurses must follow hand hygiene procedures so that the care given is is not hindered by the possibility of passing infection, infection control essay. The constitution also gives the values of the NHS, which includes the value to improve lives.
The NHS commits to improve lives and not to decrease the health of the patient due to HCAIs and so it is paramount that infection control procedures are followed to lessen the risk of infections occurring whilst receiving healthcare. Patient rights are issued in the document, one particular is the right for the patient to be treated with a professional standard of care which has been administered by qualified professionals. Service users of the NHS have the right to expect the quality of healthcare to be monitored and improved continuously, which includes safety, so hand hygiene of workers should be continuously reviewed to make sure it is up to the standard that will ensure safety.
The NHS Constitution commits to establish a safe and hygienic setting infection control essay is fit for purpose which directly involves the matter of hand hygiene because of infection control essay of it in infection control which promotes a safe and clean environment. Conclusion It is clear that transmitting infectious diseases can reduced if staff, patients and visitors washed their hands before and after tasks, a routine hand hygiene technique cannot be stressed enough as it is paramount for all staff to adhere to so that the spread of infection at bay. It is now valued that hand washing is not only important when hands are visible contaminated but is also vital that they are washed when it is infection control essay visible that they are contaminated due to the microscopic pathogens hidden on the skin.
This knowledge is essential to be passed on to all those who flow through a healthcare setting so that education can be continued on infection control. With this given, infection control essay, it is key that communication skills are overly efficient at voicing and helping in infection control with caring for the patients at the heart the education, infection control essay. With continued education and observations in this area more people would be able to show acceptable handwashing and therefore reduce the risk of infection. on Infection Control Essay on Hand Hygiene. Hand hygiene is a great way to prevent infections, infection control essay. However, studies show that on average, healthcare providers clean their hands less than half of the times they should.
Wet your hands with clean, running water warm or coldturn off the tap, and apply soap. Lather your hands by rubbing them together with the soap. Scrub your hands for at least 20 seconds. Rinse your hands well under clean, running water. Dry your hands using a clean towel or air dry them. Hand Washing Facts And Other Important Hygiene You Did Not Know About Hand Washing Facts You Didn't Know. We have all washed our hands at some point; it is just a part of daily life. Health Facts. The main reason you wash your hands is to get rid of germs and bacteria that could make you sick.
Technical Facts. As mentioned, washing your hands can get a little technical. Alarming Facts, infection control essay. Five Infection control essay You Can Do To Prevent InfectionClean Your Hands, infection control essay. Use soap and warm water, infection control essay. Make sure health care providers clean their hands or wear gloves, infection control essay. Doctors, nurses, infection control essay, dentist and other health infection control essay providers come into contact with lots of bacteria and viruses.
Cover your mouth and nose. If you are sick, avoid close contact with others. This essay was written by a fellow student.
Standard \u0026 Isolation Precautions Nursing - Infection Control Contact, Droplet, Airborne PPE NCLEX
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Aug 16, · Infection Control Essay on Hand Hygiene. Category Body. Words. (11 pages) Views. Healthcare-associated infections (HCAIs) can be extremely detrimental in health and social care settings where patients highly susceptible to disease. These are infections which the patient acquires during or after healthcare has been received which can be InfectionControl. Thecontinuous spread of infectious diseases has become a big problem inthe world today. The ability of these diseases to be transmitted fromone person to another makes the situation more complicated hencerequiring stringent measures to contain. Infectious disease control,therefore, involves the prevention and control of Excerpt from Essay: 1. To have a practical feel of the various approaches and measures undertaken in seeking to ensure that pathogens borne 2. To have better grasp of not only how infections occur, but also the manner in which various microorganisms behave and 3. To familiarize myself with
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