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FORTHCOMING EVENTS
This event is CPD Certified
OVERVIEW
• What can the Scottish Executive do to help control HCAIs?• Can inspections promote better standards and good practice?
• How successful has the clean hands campaign been?
• What does the future hold for Infection Control in Scotland?
• Is it possible to completely control HCAIs?
Since 2004, much work has been done in the UK to combat the occurrence of healthcare associated infections and the Department of Health set a target to halve MRSA cases by 2008. This goal was not only achieved, but surpassed, thanks to the introduction of such schemes as the Cleanyourhands campaign and the creation of the new DIPC role. The Health Protection Agency’s most recent reports show that there has been a 57% reduction in MRSA bloodstream infections, and a 38% drop in C. diff in just 12 months.
Scotland continues to promote new ways of tackling HCAIs in the UK. The latest initiative is the upcoming establishment of the Care Environment Inspectorate. The Care Environment Inspectorate will ‘make unannounced visits, focusing on risks identified in each hospital’s self-assessment’. Another strategy is making single rooms the norm for new and refurbished hospitals meaning the chance of contact between patients is minimised. What will be the cost of the new initiatives and how effective will they be against the threats of HCAIs?
Infection Control ’09 Scotland aims to bring together leading experts from Scotland and England, those charged with the challenges of HCAIs and the implementations of the new strategies, to speak about the challenges they face. In Scotland, cases of MRSA are down 7% over the last six months and have consistently fallen since the start of monitoring in Scotland in 2003. The Scottish Government’s successful Hand Washing campaign is just one part of the overall healthcare related infection prevention and control, and a diverse and concerted approach must be maintained if the consistent fall in cases of MRSA and C. diff is to continue.
The conference aims to provide a political and academic viewpoint on HCAIs as well as the view from inside the NHS, from those who fight the infection day to day. It is an area that needs to be discussed in Scotland and as one of the first major conferences on the subject, it aims to break new ground and create new networks, promoting debate and best practice throughout the healthcare sector. This is a fantastic opportunity to hear the new strategies being formulated regarding infection control and take away a better understanding of the Care Environment Inspectorate and the role that quality improvement Scotland has to play in this new initiative.