Patron Edwina Currie Registered Charity No. 1115672 Chair Derek Butler President Professor Hugh Pennington For enquiries about information on this page email: derek.butler@mrsaactionuk.net Tel:- 07762 741114

Good Practice

During the course of our work and contact with healthcare professionals we have found various examples of good practice which we want to pass on to hospital trusts, regulators, those who have the power to influence how budgets are spent, and those who can bring about fundamental changes to our system to improve patient safety and reduce the risk of acquiring avoidable infections.

MRSA Action UK attended the Reducing MRSA to Zero Launch at Winchester and Eastleigh Healthcare NHS Trust at the Royal Hampshire County Hospital on Thursday 8th May 2008 to find out more about its success with cannulation, which involves prescribing cannulation only when absolutely necessary, and close monitoring to check for signs of infection, they have had no bloodstream bacteraemias since the start of the programme, click on Winchester and Eastleigh's banner for more information.

Southport & Ormskirk NHS Trust have introduced wide ranging measures to reduce the incidence of avoidable infections.  Martin Kiernan outlines the high impact interventions and systems that have helped to ensure safe, quality care.  Click here to view Martin's presentation on Reducing MRSA, to include simple, but highly effective measures such as a new Care Plan to ensure compulsory removal or replacement of cannulae and other invasive devices at 72 hours.

Royal Wolverhampton Hospitals NHS Trust have significantly reduced infection rates, click here to see an account from the presentation given at the Department of Health Stakeholder Meeting with patient groups held on 7th November 2007.

Bedford Hospital NHS Trust hosted an Infection Control Seminar on Tuesday 16th October 2007, as part of Infection Control week.  MRSA Action UK gave a presentation and toured the hospital, click here to see some excellent examples of good practice and high standards of hygiene.

Accountability and Responsibility for Preventing Healthcare Infection

Visit the summary of the event hosted by Annette Jeanes and Peter Wilson, University College Hospital London, on the 3rd and 4th October 2007 to see examples of innovation and excellence where Hospital Trusts are reducing MRSA.


  

Good Practice at UCLH  UCLH are using medigenic keyboards in the fight against healthcare infections.  It is planned to introduce 1500 keyboards to all the Trust's sites with the aim to put them wherever patients are seen.

The flat design of the keyboard makes it easy to wipe and the keyboard alerts when it needs cleaning.  A wipe with a special alcohol wipe will eliminate the risk of contamination to hands from the smooth surface of the keyboard.

The keyboards were designed by Dr Peter Wilson, consultant microbiologist and Dr Paul Ostro.  If this technology reduces infections by 12 cases per year this will be enough to pay for the cost of the keyboards.

Bedford Hosptial NHS Trust is making use of the keyboards along with excellent clinical practice and environmental decontamination practice.  MRSA Action UK would like to see these keyboards in use in all healthcare settings.

Clean your hands

Mersey Care NHS Trust have lots of useful easy to read information on their website.  Of particular interest is the video on the Infection Control page.  It shows the Ayliffe Technique.  There is evidence to suggest that watching the video improves the technique, particularly for people not so familiar with infection control, such as visitors and patients, as infection control is everyone's business.  MRSA Action UK would like to see this video made available in every school and workplace, not just the healthcare setting. Click here to go to Mersey Care NHS Trust's video of the Ayliffe Technique.

Integrated Care Pathway for Patients with MRSA