Did You Know These 4 Aspects of Infection Control?

Infection control encompasses all the factors that are related with the containment of infection in any healthcare facility. Due to the perpetual possibility of contracting infections in such a set-up, infection control needs to constantly on its toes looking out for possibilities of infection due to its patients, staff or any other reason within the facility. Thus infection control should be considered not a concept but a process, which is always working in the background.

The following 4 points will tell you about key matters concerning infection control.

• Standard Measures: Whether you merely suspect a patient of having a certain infection or have it confirmed on paper, there are some standard measures that must be adhered to while dealing with all the patients in any kind of healthcare facility. This includes wearing personal protection equipment like gloves, masks and gowns at all times. Also you must know how to handle used equipment whether they are to be sterilized for reuse or to be disposed of safely. Environmental cleanliness is very important and several common surfaces like the furniture and floors must be kept clean with the help of a disinfectant. And finally hand hygiene must be maintained at all times, which is a very basic yet one of the most effective ways to prevent spread of infections.

• Isolation: A patient may be required to be isolated if suspected of having a communicable infection. A healthcare facility must have such areas and even isolated room for particularly contagious diseases. Any staff treating such patients must wear gloves, gown and face masks, and should be visited by the required medical personnel only. Since such patients might experience loneliness, their psychological needs and physical comfort must be well looked after.

• Training and Education: Some regions have made infection control training mandatory for certain medical professionals and particular fields in the healthcare industry. Accordingly, certain recognized organizations offer standardized training to health professionals. Some training modules also award a practitioner certificate subject to particular qualifications, experience and passing the relevant examination. Such certification has to be renewed after a certain number of years to keep your skills and knowledge updated. Besides this even healthcare facilities can impart certain education to their staff about effective infection control by taking the necessary precautions during treatment and safe disposal of infected materials afterwards.

• Investigation: Investigation may be required in a healthcare facility if an infection is seen in several patients or a certain pattern is noticed. A team will be required to investigate such matter and can collect and analyze information to find out if the infection is spreading due to random factors concerning people or place or if there is an outbreak. Accordingly steps can be taken to contain the situation. Investigation also helps to avoid such infections from spreading in the future.

A healthcare facility must have policies in place to manage the above factors effectively and in a way that not only there is constant monitoring for early detection but also a mechanism to take corrective actions immediately.