Standard safety precautions are essential infection control measures aimed at reducing the transmission of pathogens in healthcare settings. They include practices such as hand hygiene, using personal protective equipment, and safe handling of patient care items. Transmission-based precautions are applied when standard precautions alone may not suffice to prevent infection spread.

1. STANDARD SAFETY
PRECAUTIONS
Mr. ANILKUMAR B R , M.s.c Nursing
ASSIT PROFESSOR
Medical – surgical Nursing

2. INTRODUCTION
•Standard precautions are meant to reduce the risk of
transmission of blood borne and other pathogens from
both recognized and unrecognized sources.
•They are the basic level of infection control precautions
which are to be used, as a minimum, in the care of all
patients.

3. • Standard safety precautions are the basic infection
prevention and control measures necessary to reduce the
risk of transmission of infectious agent from both
unrecognized and unrecognized sources of infection.

4. What is Standard precautions ?
The tenets of Standard Precautions are that all
patients are colonized or infected with
microorganisms, whether or not there are signs
or symptoms, and that a uniform level of
should be used in the care of all patients.

5. The elements of Standard Precautions
The elements of Standard Precautions include:
• Hand hygiene.
• Use of gloves and other barriers (e.g., mask, eye protection,
face shield, gown).
• Handling of patient care equipment and linen.
• Environmental control.
• Prevention of injury from sharps devices, and patient
placement.
• Respiratory hygiene and cough etiquette

6. The elements of Standard
Precautions

7. HAND HYGIENE
HAND HYGIENE HAND HYGIENE

8. HAND HYGIENE
•Hand hygiene is a major elements of standard
precautions and one of the most effective methods to
prevent transmission of pathogens associated with
health care.
•Hand hygiene is considered an important practice in
reducing the transmission of infectious agents which
cause HAIs.

9. HAND HYGIENE
• When hands are visibly dirty or contaminated with biologic
material from patient care, hands should be washed with soap
and water.
• In intensive care units and other locations in which virulent or
resistant organisms are likely to be present, antimicrobial
agents (eg, chlorhexidine gluconate, iodophors, chloroxylenol,
triclosan) may be used.
• Effective hand washing requires at least 15 seconds of
vigorous scrubbing with special attention to the area around
nail beds and between fingers, where there is high bacterial
burden.

10. HAND HYGIENE
• If hands are not visibly soiled, health care providers are
strongly encouraged to use alcohol-based, waterless antiseptic
agents for routine hand decontamination.

11. 5 Movements for Hand hygiene

12. Comparing Hand Hygiene Methods
Hand Decontamination with
Alcohol-Based Product
1. After contact with body fluids, excretions, mucous membranes,
nonintact skin, or wound dressings as long as hands are not
visibly soiled.
2. After contact with a patient’s intact skin (as after taking pulse
or blood pressure or lifting a patient.
3. After contact with inanimate objects in the patient’s immediate
vicinity.
4. Before caring for patients with severe neutropenia or other
forms of severe immune suppression.
5. Before donning sterile gloves when inserting central catheters.
6. Before inserting urinary catheters or other devices that do not
require a surgical procedure
7.After removing gloves
Hand Washing
1. When hands are visibly dirty
or contaminated with biologic
material from patient care.
2. When healthcare workers do
not tolerate waterless alcohol
product

13. AREAS FREQUENTLY MISSED DURING
HAND HYGIENE

14. PERSONAL PROTECTIVE
EQUIPMENT'S (PPE)

15. GLOVES

16. GLOVES
• Gloves provide an effective barrier for hands from the
microflora associated with patient care.
•Gloves should be worn when a health care worker has
contact with any patient’s secretions or excretions and
must be discarded after each patient care contact.

17. GLOVES
Wear when touching blood, body fluids, secretions, excretions,
mucous membranes, nonintact skin.
Change between tasks and procedures on the same patient after
contact with potentially infectious material.
Remove after use, before touching non-contaminated items and
surfaces, and before going to another patient.
Perform hand hygiene immediately after removal.

18. Gloves must be:
Worn when exposure to blood and/or other body fluids is
anticipated/likely.
Changed immediately after each patient and/or following
completion of a procedure or task.
Changed if a perforation or puncture is suspected; and
Appropriate for use, fit for purpose and well-fitting to avoid
excessive sweating and interference with dexterity.

19. GOWNS AND APRONS

20. GOWNS AND APRONS
• Wear an apron or gown to protect skin and prevent soiling of
clothing during procedures and patient care activities that are
likely to generate splashing or sprays of blood, body fluids,
secretions or excretions, or cause soiling of clothing.
• Select a gown or apron (i.e., long or short sleeves) that is
appropriate for the activity and the amount of fluid likely to
be encountered. If an apron is used, staff should ensure they
are “bare-below-the-elbows”.
• Remove the used gown as promptly as possible and roll it up
carefully and discard appropriately.
• Perform hand hygiene immediately after removal.

21. PREVENTION OF NEEDLE STICK AND
INJURIES FROM OTHER SHARP
INSTRUMENTS

23. PREVENTION OF NEEDLE STICK AND
INJURIESThe most important aspect of
reducing the risk of blood borne
infection is avoidance of
percutaneous injury.
Extreme care is essential in all
situations in which needles,
scalpels, and other sharp objects
are handled.
Used needles should not be recapped.
Instead, they are placed directly into
puncture resistant containers in the
vicinity of their use.

24. PREVENTION OF NEEDLE STICK AND
INJURIES
Use care when:
1. Handling needles, scalpels, and other sharp instruments
or devices.
2. Cleaning used instruments.
3. Disposing of used needles and other sharp
instruments.

25. FACIAL PROTECTION (EYES, NOSE, AND
MOUTH)
•When the health care provider is involved in an activity
in which body fluids may be sprayed or splashed,
appropriate barriers must be used. If a splash to the face
may occur, goggles and facemask are warranted.
•If the health care worker is handling material that may
soil clothing or is involved in a procedure in which
clothing may be splashed with biologic material, a cover
gown should be worn.

26. FACIAL PROTECTION (EYES, NOSE,
AND MOUTH)

27. Facial protection (eyes, nose, and mouth)
1. Wear a surgical or procedure mask
and eye protection (eye visor,
goggles) or
2. a face shield to protect mucous
membranes of the eyes, nose, and
mouth during activities that are
likely to generate splashes or sprays
of blood, body fluids, secretions,
and excretions.
Gown
1. Wear to protect skin and prevent
soiling of clothing during activities
that are likely to generate splashes
or sprays of blood, body fluids,
secretions, or excretions.
2. Remove soiled gown as soon as
possible, and perform hand
hygiene.

28. Linens
•Linens Handle, transport, and process used linen in a
manner which:
 Prevents skin and mucous membrane exposures and
contamination of clothing.
Avoids transfer of pathogens to other patients and or the
environment.

29. Handling of patient care equipment and linen
•Handle equipment soiled with blood, body fluids,
secretions, and excretions in a manner that prevents skin
and mucous membrane exposures, contamination of
clothing, and transfer of pathogens to other patients or
the environment.
 Clean, disinfect, and reprocess reusable equipment
appropriately before use with another patient.

30. WASTE DISPOSAL
 Ensure safe waste management.
 Treat waste contaminated with
blood, body fluids, secretions and
excretions as clinical waste, in
accordance with local regulations.
 Human tissues and laboratory
waste that is directly associated
with specimen processing should
also be treated as clinical waste.
 Discard single use items properly.

31. ENVIRONMENTAL CONTROL
•Ensure that the health service has adequate procedures for
the routine care, cleaning and disinfection of
environmental surfaces, beds, bedrails, bedside equipment
and other frequently touched surfaces, and that these
procedures are being followed.
•Use adequate procedures for the routine cleaning and
disinfection of environmental and other frequently
touched surfaces.

32. Respiratory hygiene and cough etiquette
• Education of health workers, patients and visitors.
•Covering mouth and nose when coughing or sneezing.
• Hand hygiene after contact with respiratory secretions.
• Spatial separation of persons with acute febrile
respiratory symptoms.

33. TRANSMISSION-BASED PRECAUTIONS
(TBP)
• Transmission-based precautions (TBPs) are used in addition to
standard precautions when standard precautions alone may be
insufficient to prevent transmission of infection.
• TBPs are used for patients known or suspected to be infected or
colonised with epidemiologically important or highly transmissible
pathogens that can transmit or cause infection.
TBPs are not required for patients with blood borne viruses, such as
HIV, hepatitis B virus or hepatitis C virus.

34. TRANSMISSION-BASED PRECAUTIONS
(TBP)
The type of TBPs applied is based upon the mode of transmission of
the pathogen. For diseases that have multiple routes of transmission,
more than one TBP category is applied. The following are the routes
of transmission.
Airborne transmission, e.g., pulmonary tuberculosis, chickenpox,
measles
 Droplet transmission, e.g., influenza, pertussis (whooping cough),
rubella
 Contact transmission (direct or indirect), e.g., viral gastroenteritis,
Clostridium difficile, MRSA, scabies

35. CONCLUSION
 Standard precautions are the work practices required to
achieve a basic level of infection prevention and control.
 Standard precautions are the minimum infection prevention
and control practices that must be used at all times for all
patients in all situations.
 Transmission-based precautions are used when standard
precautions alone are not sufficient to prevent the spread of
an infectious agent.
Transmission-based precautions are based upon the mode of
transmission of the infectious agent.