Infection prevention, it’s everyone’s responsibility
Helping reduce the risk of infection is everyone’s responsibility. Germs can be brought into wards and units by anyone and they can be spread to other people. Pennine Acute Hospitals NHS Trust takes the prevention and control of infection very seriously and it has a dedicated infection prevention team, who work closely with staff to help advise where and how people with specific infections should be cared for, depending on the type of germ or infection concerned.
All Pennine Acute Hospitals NHS Trust staff receive regular Infection prevention training and are kept up-to-date with how to protect the people who use our services, visitors and themselves.
Our staff take infections seriously and are committed to keeping our service users as safe and healthy as possible. We understand that patients are concerned about hospital acquired infections such as MRSA and Clostridium difficile when they are admitted.
We ask you to help us by doing 4 simple things:
Infection control is everyone’s responsibility; Pennine Acute Hospitals NHS Trust needs your commitment by following these simple guidelines whenever you visit the hospital.
- Not come to hospital to visit a patient if you have been unwell with vomiting /diarrhoea or flu like symptoms in the last 48 hrs
- Cleanse your hands with the alcohol based hand gel every time you enter or leave a ward or use the nearest sink to wash your hands with soap and water.
- Not to eat at the bedside whilst visiting patients
- Not to sit on patients’ beds
Hand hygiene:
“We ask visitors to use the alcohol based hand gel. This can be found at the entrance to all wards and departments along with instructions on how to apply it. It should be applied every time you enter and leave the ward or department. By making sure that everyone adheres to these procedures, we can ensure we maintain our excellent standards and reduce the risk of cross-infection.”
Remember, you can always ask any member of staff if they have washed their hands too!
Clostridium Difficile (C. diff)
This video has been produced by the Trust to help healthcare professionals identify and risk assess patient with suspected C.diff.