Infection Control Programme in Intensive Control Unit in Indian hospital - Dissertation Example

80.95% said that clinical waste is disposed into community dumps directly. The written policy and procedures must be integrated in daily routine by using visual techniques such as posters, pamphlets and medical calendars so that the staff is continually reminded about the infection control practices. Declaration List of Figures Figure 11 - Number and rate of ICU acquired infection by infection type 19 Figure 22 - Hand wash and economic constraints 22 Figure 33 - Proper method of washing hands 24 Figure 4:4: Sample question scoring 43 Figure 5:5: Sample response rate & graphical chart 45 Figure 6: Hand Hygiene - Question 1 51 Figure 7: Hand Hygiene - Question 2 54 Figure 8: Hand Hygiene - Question 3 56 Figure 9: Hand Hygiene - Question 4 60 Figure 10: Hand Hygiene - Question 5 62 Figure 11: Hand Hygiene - Question 6 64 Figure 12: Hand Hygiene - Question 7 66 Figure 13: Sterilisation and Disinfection - Question 1 70 Figure 14: Sterilisation and Disinfection - Question 2 73 Figure 15: Sterilisation and Disinfection - Question 5.4.3 75 Figure 16: Sterilisation and Disinfection - Question 4 77 Figure 17: Sterilisation and Disinfection - Question 5 79 Figure 18: Sterilisation and Disinfection - Question 6 81 Figure 19: Sterilisation and Disinfection - Question 7 83 Figure 20: Sterilisation and Disinfection - Question 8 85 Figure 21: Sterilisation and Disinfection - Question 9 87 Figure 22: Waste Management - Question 1 90 Figure 23: Waste Management - Question 2 92 Figure 24: Waste Management - Question 3 95 Figure 25: Waste Management - Question 4 97 Figure 26: Waste Management - Question 5 99 Figure 27: Waste Management - Question 6 101 Figure 28: Waste Management - Question 7 103 Figure 29: Waste Management - Question 8 105 Figure 30:6: Aggregate Hand.

The paper tells that infections acquired by a patient in a healthcare facility, which were neither present nor incubating when the patient entered the hospital are called as nosocomial infections or hospital-acquired infections (HAIs). Hospitalised patients are more prone to develop such infections due to weak immune system, resulting from complex surgeries, organ transplantation, use of invasive devices and medical procedures, antibiotic resistance and other sources of cross-infection. Development of nosocomial infection is multiplied by the presence of microorganism in the hospital environment, which act as a reservoir from where microorganisms spread to other patients and cause infections.

Infection can be acquired not just from other infected patients and healthcare staff but also from getting in contact with contaminated medical instruments and devices. Accumulation of patients suffering from acute illness in a relatively small place such as the intensive care unit (ICU) further increases the potential of nosocomial infection. Patients in an intensive care unit are at an increased risk of acquiring infections as compared to patients in general wards or other areas of the hospital.

Bacteria have been the traditional source of nosocomial infection but with increasing use of antibiotics, urinary and central venous catheters, invasive surgeries, chemotherapy, mechanical ventilators, increasing incidence of other infectious microorganisms such as viruses and fungi, have become one of the leading causes of nosocomial infections. Nosocomial infections extends hospital stay and increase both morbidity and mortality.