1. Patient safety aims to prevent harm caused by errors and system failures in healthcare by applying safety science methods. Adverse events are common but preventable issues that cause unnecessary harm. 2. Healthcare-associated infections are a major global problem, affecting millions of patients annually. Following proper infection control procedures like hand hygiene and using personal protective equipment can help prevent transmission and reduce infection rates. 3. Nurses play a key role in infection prevention by maintaining clean clinical environments, properly washing hands, using protective barriers, and safely handling and disposing of medical sharps and wastes. Following recommended guidelines can help provide safe care and minimize infection risks for all patients.

1. PATIENT SAFETY : INFECTION CONTROL
Manjunathan C.,
RN RPN., M.Sc.(N)., M.Sc.,(CP)., PhD.,(N),
AGM-Nursing I Operations I JCI Coordinator,
Apollo CBCC Cancer Care,
Apollo Hospitals International Ltd..

2. Acknowledgments
• World Health Organization
– The World Health Organization is committed to promoting healthy
outcomes for all of the world’s people.
– This lecture is primarily based on the World Health Organization
Patient Safety Curriculum Guide retrieved from
http://www.who.int/patientsafety/education/curriculum/en/index.html

3. 1. Recognize patient safety as an important nursing responsibility in global
health care systems.
2. Apply required knowledge in preventing and/or minimizing infection.
3. Perform appropriate behaviors required to prevent health care
associated infections.
4. Demonstrate required competence to provide patients with safe care.
Learning Objectives

4. Introduction to Patient Safety:
Definition
Patient safety is a discipline in the health care sector that applies safety
science methods toward the goal of achieving a trustworthy system of
health care delivery. Patient safety is also an attribute of health care
systems; it minimizes the incidence and impact of, and maximizes
recovery from, adverse events
(Emanuel et al., 2008)

5. Introduction to Patient Safety:
Background
• Adverse medical events are widespread and preventable (Emanuel et
al., 2008) .
• Much unnecessary harm is caused by health-care errors and system
failures.
– Ex. 1: Hospital acquired infections from poor hand-washing.
– Ex. 2: Complications from administering the wrong medication.

6. Introduction to Patient Safety:Goal
• Prevent and/or minimize the adverse events and eliminate preventable
harm in health care.
• All health care professionals including nurses are responsible for
ensuring patient safety

7. Introduction to Patient Safety
Global Infection Problems
According to WHO,
• On average, 8.7% of hospital patients suffer health care-associated
infections (HAI).
• In developed countries: 5-10%
• In developing countries:
– Risk of HAI: 2-20 times higher
– HAI may affect more than 25% of patients
• At any one time, over 1.4 million people worldwide suffer from
infections acquired while in hospital.

8. Health Care-Associated Infections
(HAI)
According to WHO:
• HAI is also called “nosocomial”.
• HAI is defined as:
– an infection acquired in hospital by a patient who was admitted for a
reason other than that infection.
– an infection occurring in a patient in a hospital or other health-care
facility in whom the infection was not present or incubating at the
time of admission.

9. Impacts of Health Care-Associated
Infections (HAI)
HAI can:
• Increase patients’ suffering.
• Lead to permanent disability.
• Lead to death.
• Prolong hospital stay.
• Increase need for a higher level of care.
• Increase the costs to patients and hospitals.

10. Preventing infections
Requires health care providers who have:
– Knowledge of common infections and their vectors
– An attitude of cooperation and commitment
– Skills necessary to provide safe care

11. Required Knowledge
• Knowledge of the extent of the problem;
• Knowledge of the main causes, modes of transmission, and types of
infections.

12. Required Attitudes
Being an effective team player.
Commitment to preventing HAIs

13. Required Skills
• Apply universal precautions*
• Use personal protection methods
• Know what to do if exposed
• Encourage others to use universal precautions
• Report breaks in technique that increase patient risks
• Observe patients for signs and symptoms of infection

14. One more important thing!
Protect Yourself
Be sure you have been immunized against Hepatitis B since it is very
easy to transmit!

15. Main Sources of Infection
• Person to person via hands of health-care providers, patients, and
visitors
• Personal clothing and equipment (e.g. Stethoscopes, flashlights etc.)
• Environmental contamination
• Airborne transmission
• Hospital staff who are carriers
• Rare common-source outbreaks

16. Campaigns to Decrease Infection
Rates
• WHO “Clean hands are safer hands” campaign
• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) “prevent
antimicrobial resistance” campaign in health-care settings
• Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) “5 million lives”
campaign
– Developing country focus

17. Main Routes for infections
• Urinary tract infections (UTI)
– Catheter-associated UTIs are the most frequent, accounting for
about 35% of all HAI.
• Surgical infections: about 20% of all HAI
• Bloodstream infections associated with the use of an intravascular
device: about 15% of all HAI
• Pneumonia associated with ventilators: about15% of HAI

18. Types of Infections
Burke J Infection control-a problem for patient safety New England Journal of
Medicine (February 13, 2003)

19. Four Ways to Prevent HAI
1. Maintain cleanliness of the hospital.
2. Personal attention to hand washing before and after every contact
with a patient or object.
3. Use personal protective equipment whenever indicated.
4. Use and dispose of sharps safely.

20. Prevention in Hospitals and Clinics
• Studies show infections are minimized when hospitals/clinics:
– Are visibly clean;
– Use increased levels of cleaning during outbreaks;
– Use hypochlorite and detergents during outbreaks.

21. Prevention through Handwashing
• Handwashing: the single most important intervention before and
after patient contact.
• Required knowledge and skills:
– How to clean hands
– Rationale for choice of clean hand practice
– Techniques for hand hygiene
– Protect hands from contaminants
– Promote adherence to hand hygiene guidelines

22. Five moments for hand hygiene
• Before patient contact
• Before an aseptic task
• After body fluid exposure even if wearing gloves!
• After patient contact
• After contact with patient surroundings

23. Your 5 moments for HAND HYGIENE

24. How to Clean Hands
• Remove all wrist and hand jewelry.
• Cover cuts and abrasions with waterproof dressings.
• Keep fingernails short, clean, and free from nail polish.

25. Effective Handwashing Technique
• Wet hands under tepid running water
• Apply soap or antimicrobial preparation
– solution must have contact with whole surface area of hands
– vigorous rubbing of hands for 10–15 seconds
– especially tips of fingers, thumbs and areas between fingers
• Rinse completely
• Dry hands with good quality paper towel.

26. How to use waterless handrub
• Apply a palmful of product in cupped hand
• Rub hands palm to palm
• Right palm over left hand with interlaced fingers
• Palm to palm with fingers interlaced
• Backs of fingers to opposing palms with fingers intelocked
• Rub between thumb and forefinger
• Rotational rubbing, backwards and forwards with clasped fingers of
right hand in left palm and vice versa
• Once dry your hands are safe.

27. Resources for Correct Handwashing
Procedures
• Your Five Moments for Hand Hygiene
• http://www.who.int/gpsc/tools/5momentsHandHygiene_A3.pdf
• How to handrub? How to handwash?
• http://www.who.int/gpsc/tools/GPSC-HandRub-Wash.pdf

28. Personal Protective Equipment
• Gloves, aprons, gowns, eye protection, and face masks
• Health care workers should wear a face mask, eye protection and a
gown if there is the potential for blood or other bodily fluids to splash.

29. Personal protective equipment 2
• Masks should be worn
– if an airborne infection is suspected or confirmed
– to protect an immune compromised patient.

30. Gloves
Gloves must be worn for:
• all invasive procedures
• contact with sterile sites
• contact with non-intact skin or mucous membranes
• all activities assessed as having a risk of exposure to blood, bodily
fluids, secretions and excretions, and handling sharps or
contaminated instruments.
Hands should be washed before and after gloving

31. Safe Use and Disposal of Sharps
• Keep handling to a minimum
• Do not recap needles; bend or break after use
• Discard each needle into a sharps container at the point of use
• Do not overload a bin if it is full
• Do not leave a sharp bin in the reach of children

32. Act to Minimize
Spread of Infection-1
Before contact with each and every patient:
– clean hands before touching a patient
– clean hands before an aseptic task

33. Act to Minimize
Spread of Infection-2
After contact with each and every patient:
– clean hands after any risk of exposure to body fluids
– clean hands after actual patient contact
– clean hands after contact with patient surroundings

34. Summary-1
• Know the main guidelines in each of the clinical environments you
are assigned.
• Accept responsibility for minimizing opportunities for infection
transmission.
• Let staff know if supplies are inadequate or depleted.

35. Summary-2
• Educate patients and families/visitors about clean hands and
infection transmission.
• Ensure patients on precautions have same standard of care as others:
– frequency of entering the room
– monitoring vital signs

36. References
• World Health Organization. (2010). WHO Patient Safety Curriculum
Guide for Medical Schools.
• World Health Organization. (2010). Topic 1: What is patient safety?
• World Health Organization. (2010). Topic 9: Minimizing infection
through improved infection control.
• Emanuel, L., Berwick, D., Conway, J., Combes, J., Hatlie, M., Leape,
L., Reason, J., Schyve, P., Vincent, C., & Walton, M. (2008). What
exactly is patient safety? Advances in Patient Safety, Vol. 1: Assessment.
Retrieved from
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/bookshelf/br.fcgi?book=aps2v1&part=adv
ances-emanuel-berwick_110
• Burke, J. P. (2003). Infection control — A problem for patient safety.
The New England Journal of Medicine, 348, p. 651-656.

37. No More Slow….
When you become more
slow to accept, adapt and
adopt an advanced
Technologies in the
system
Then we will be????

39. “We have two jobs: Our job and
the job of improving our job”.
THANK YOU
AnyFurtherqueriesreachme @:
manjunathan1801@gmail.com