The healthcare environment continues to present a risk of infection transmission, so what can we do to protect patients in a post-pandemic era? The Central Sterilising Club’s 60th anniversary annual scientific meeting showcased the latest evidence for best practice, highlighting some of the potential threats that need to be addressed.
Environmental decontamination was high on the agenda at the Central Sterilising Club’s annual scientific meeting – the pandemic has intensified interest in technologies that tackle airborne pathogens, but the familiar foes of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), Clostridiodes difficile and vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE), to name just a few, remain a challenge. While technologies such as hydrogen peroxide vapour (HPV) and ultraviolet (UV) light have an important role in helping to prevent healthcare-associated infections, cleaning is still fundamental to ensure patient safety and to reduce the risk of environmental transmission. But do we give this the training or recognition it deserves?
Dr Mark Garvey, consultant clinical scientist in microbiology and deputy director of infection prevention and control at University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust (UHB), tackled this issue in a presentation on ‘Wiping out Infections’.
“In healthcare, we are undertaking increasingly complicated work, especially at the University Hospitals Birmingham, one of the largest hospitals in the UK – with over 2500 beds. We perform transplants every day and put lots of devices into patients, which can provide potential routes into patients for microorganisms,” he commented.
Log in or register FREE to read the rest
This story is Premium Content and is only available to registered users. Please log in at the top of the page to view the full text.
If you don't already have an account, please register with us completely free of charge.