Electron micrograph of MRSA
C. difficile colonies on a blood agar plate
MRSA and the control and prevention of health care associated infections.
Background
Staphylococcus aureus is a bacterium found in the nose of approximately 30% of the population. It colonises the nose and occasionally skin, usually causing no adverse effects to the individual. Colonisation does not usually cause any problems, however, if it enters the body tissues it may cause infections such as boils and wound infections. It is sensitive to, and will be killed by, most commonly used antibiotics.
However, Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus (MRSA) is a particular type of staphylococcus aureus which has developed resistance to most antibiotics. It can live harmlessly on the skin and in some chronic wounds such as leg ulcers, but can cause problems if it does get into a skin break such as a surgical wound or a normally sterile body cavity, such as your bladder. MRSA is difficult to treat because there are only a few antibiotics that will kill it.
It is a myth to think of MRSA just as a ‘hospital superbug’. It can be caught and passed on almost anywhere. MRSA can be passed from person to person by contact between them. Someone carrying the germ on their hands or skin can pass it on to another person if good basic hygiene is not carried out. It can also be found in the environment if cleanliness standards are not maintained. People can carry MRSA without knowing it, so may have acquired it prior to admission to hospital.
MRSA has become an increasing risk to vulnerable patients in recent years.
The New Victoria Hospital Position
It is important to declare at the outset that the incidence of MRSA having been acquired at The New Victoria Hospital is nil.
Minimising and managing risks are a core part of The New Victoria Hospital's responsibilities in the interests of the health, safety and wellbeing of patients, staff and visitors. These responsibilities are documented and are an integral part of procedures, protocols and policies. All staff have a responsibility for adhering to policies and guidelines which are in place to minimise the possibility of the spread of any organisms that may cause infection including MRSA.
The physical structure and design of the hospital assists in minimising the risk of cross infection, with inpatients having their own room with en-suite facilities. Nurse to patient ratios are high and bed occupancy controlled therefore increasing the time staff have available to ensure the highest quality of care and hygiene. Hand-washing facilities are available at each point of patient contact and all our clinical staff carry alcohol hand rub to facilitate adequate hand hygiene at all times.
The New Victoria Hospital is clean – one of the key interventions in minimising cross-infection from patient to staff and from staff to patient is by maintaining a clean hospital and thorough, effective hand decontamination between every patient contact. Housekeeping staff work as part of the ward team to high specifications of hygiene and cleanliness.
There is an active infection control programme encompassing staff training in effective housekeeping to ensure the hospital is effectively cleaned and to educate staff in efficient hand hygiene in order to reduce cross infection.
A Consultant Microbiologist works as a specialist advisor within the hospital in managing cases of infection, advising on protocols, policies and guidelines. The hospital also employs a specially trained infection control nurse who provides staff with day-to-day infection control advice, guidance and training and monitors the standards delivered.
All patients are nursed using standard contact precautions. However, if patients are known, or suspected of having an infection, or being colonised with a resistant organism they will be nursed using isolation techniques to protect them and others.
A proportion of patients are screened for MRSA either prior to or at the time of admission including those patients who:
- Are known to have previously been colonised or infected with MRSA
- Have been transferred from an NHS hospital or nursing home
- Have been transferred from an overseas hospital or have been admitted from overseas
The New Victoria Hospital monitors the incidence of MRSA and other healthcare associated infections and continually reviews procedures to ensure that current best practice is applied.
What you can do to help
You can help yourself and others by:
- Always washing your hands after you have been to the toilet and before you eat
- Not touching your wound or any device that is in your arm/leg/bladder or other body cavity – for example a drip or catheter
- Not exposing your wound to show your visitors or allowing them to touch it or any devices
- Showering as frequently as able
- Asking your visitors to wash their hands before and after visiting and not to sit on your bed or use your toilet
- Asking your visitors not to visit in large groups and not to visit if they are feeling unwell or have an infection such as flu, heavy cold or diarrhoea and vomiting
All these factors and approaches contribute to reducing the risk of cross infection at the hospital.
