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Running head: HOSPITAL ACQUIRED INFECTIONS 1

HOSPITAL ACQUIRED INFECTION 6

Prevention of Hospital Acquired Infection in Critically Ill Patients

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Prevention of Hospital Acquired Infection in Critically Ill Patients

Introduction

The primary role of any healthcare organization is to improve the health and well-being of patients. To achieve this, it is necessary for healthcare organizations to make sure that they establish an environment that is safe and suitable for the administration of effective healthcare. However, there is a phenomenon in healthcare that threatens the delivery of quality healthcare in organizations, yet it is rarely given the attention that it deserves. The issue us that critically ill patients are acquiring illnesses in hospitals where they have gone to seek medication, and this affects the delivery of healthcare in the organizations. Critically ill patients such as patients with terminal illnesses or patients who have been admitted to the emergency department of hospitals are likely to spend a lot of time in healthcare organizations as they receive healthcare. When patients acquire illnesses in hospitals where they have gone to seek healthcare, it is highly likely that it may lead to the worsening of the initial presenting condition, delay recovery or even lead to death in extreme cases. The primary purpose of this paper is to develop strategies, measures, and interventions to prevent and possibly limit the impacts of hospital-acquired illnesses on the delivery of healthcare. This paper holds that the problem of critically ill patients in hospitals acquitting illnesses is associated with negligence among healthcare providers and it will be necessary for the healthcare providers to address negligence so as to fight the infections

Background

Context of the problem

Critically ill patients are vulnerable due to weakened immunity, and as a result, they need to be cared for properly. Cases have been on the rise where these patients acquire infections from the hospitals where they are receiving healthcare. Data suggest that close to 6% of critically ill patients who are admitted in healthcare organizations acquire illnesses in the facilities and that has in many cases lowed the quality of healthcare, hindered the recovery patients or in extreme cases led to the death of the patients (Fox et al., 2015). When an organization realizes that its patients are acquiring illnesses from a facility, the only realistic conclusion is that the facility has some challenges that need to be addressed.

Impact of the problem

There are several impacts that the problem of acquisition of illnesses in hospitals may have on both the facility and patients. The primary impact of the problem is that it prevents or delays the recovery of the patients. As stated before, critically ill patients have low immunity, and when they acquire new illnesses, it is highly likely that their survival may be compromised. That will delay the course of their recovery. Besides, it is also likely that death may arise (Haverstick et al., 2015). To a healthcare facility, a high number of hospital-acquired illnesses may affect negatively affect the reputation of the organization.

Addressing the challenge

While appreciating the enormity of this threat to the life and safety of patients, it is notable that only a few organizations are taking active measures to address the challenge. The following is a discussion of some of the measures that are or may be used to address the problem;

Firstly, hospitals need to maintain very high levels of hygiene (Da Silva et al., 2020). Many of the cases of acquired illnesses in hospitals arise from the failure of healthcare organizations to maintain high standards of hygiene. When hospitals fail to maintain high levels of hygiene, they make it easy for disease-causing pathogens to attack the patients (Mehta et al., 2014). Thus, one of the most effective ways of eliminating hospital-acquired infection is to make sure that healthcare organizations practice very high levels of hygiene. The second course of action is the need for patients to clean hands regularly. Many of the illnesses that patients acquire in hospitals arise from poor hygiene, and that leads to the development of illnesses. It is incredibly important to make sure that patients regularly clean their hands. Regular cleaning of hand is one of the most effective ways of keeping germs away. Failure to do this is likely to increase the chances of patients contracting diseases.

Finally, nurses must improve hand-washing so that they may not touch patients with germs. Nurses have frequent contact with patients, and as a result, they may easily transmit infections to the patients. It is important to note that nurses spend a lot more time with patients than any other healthcare provider (Lewis et al., 2019). Thus, when nurses have any infection, it is possible for them to infect the patients in the event where they fail to maintain a high standard of hygiene and use the appropriate protective gear. The use of protective gear plays an important role in making sure that there is no bodily contact that may prevent infections.

Conclusion

The problem of critically ill patients in hospitals acquitting illnesses is associated with negligence among healthcare providers, and it will be necessary for the healthcare providers to address negligence and embracing the use of preventive measures so as to fight the infections. Critically ill patients such as patients with terminal illnesses or patients who have been admitted to the emergency department of hospitals are likely to spend a lot of time in healthcare organizations as they receive healthcare. However, critically ill patients are vulnerable due to weakened immunity, and as a result, they need to be cared for properly. Cases have been on the rise where these patients acquire infections from the hospitals where they are receiving healthcare. This paper has suggested some measures, approaches, and interventions that may be used to prevent infections. Firstly, hospitals need to maintain very high levels of hygiene. Many of the illnesses that patients acquire in hospitals arise from poor hygiene, and that leads to the development of illnesses. Additionally, there is a need for patients to clean their hands regularly. Finally, nurses must improve hand-washing so that they may not touch patients with germs.

References

Da Silva, J. K. C., Matos, E., & de Souza, S. D. S. (2020). Care bundle for both prevention and control of hospital-acquired infection in adult emergency service Fundamental Online, 12, 168-174.

Fox, C., Wavra, T., Drake, D. A., Mulligan, D., Bennett, Y. P., Nelson, C., ... & Bader, M. K. (2015). Use of a patient hand hygiene protocol to reduce hospital-acquired infections and improve nurses’ hand washing. American Journal of Critical Care, 24(3), 216-224.

Haverstick, S., Goodrich, C., Freeman, R., James, S., Kullar, R., & Ahrens, M. (2017). Patients' handwashing and reducing hospital-acquired infection. Critical care nurse, 37(3), e1-e8.

Lewis, S. R., Schofield‐Robinson, O. J., Rhodes, S., & Smith, A. F. (2019). Chlorhexidine bathing of the critically ill for the prevention of hospital‐acquired infection. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, (8).

Mehta, Y., Gupta, A., Todi, S., Myatra, S. N., Samaddar, D. P., Patil, V., ... & Ramasubban, S. (2014). Guidelines for the prevention of hospital-acquired infections. Indian journal of critical care medicine: peer-reviewed, official publication of Indian Society of Critical Care Medicine, 18(3), 149.