Paths to improvement clearly defined

Professor Christine Beasley, chief nursing officer, Department of Health, told delegates on the first day of the conference that beginning to reduce was a widespread belief that hospitals were dirty. People who had used hospitals recently were likely to perceive the premises had become cleaner. Attention still needed to be focused on high usage areas such as entrances, A&E departments and lavatories where cleanliness could remain unsatisfactory. She reflected on how, in the early 1990s, there had been a lack of investment in cleaning – both that conducted as an in-house activity and that contracted out.

Prof Beasley said the UK now led in healthcare-acquired infection surveillance. An established aim was to significantly reduce cases of HAIs caused by MRSA and other pathogens, and there was also a goal to increase public confidence in hospitals by ensuring that the premises were clean and safe. She drew attention to the high cost implications of HAIs, and underlined the importance of adhering to correct standards of basic clinical practice at every patient contact point. It was essential that the means were in place for staff to easily achieve satisfactory hand cleaning regimes.

Prof Beasley said infection control in a hospital needed to be led by the chief executive and backed by the involvement of senior clinicians. Indeed, the driving down of MRSA rates should be championed by clinicians. There was a requirement not just for behavioural change but also for sustaining such change.