How can patients and visitors help?
Clean your hands
The best ways of preventing bacteria passing from one person to
another is by cleaning our hands. There are Hand Gel dispensers at
the entrance to every ward and we ask that anyone entering the
department uses it. To use the Hand Gel place a squirt of the gel
onto the palm of one hand then rub hands vigorously together
covering all areas of your hands and fingers. Keep rubbing your
hands together until the gel evaporates. This takes 20-30
seconds.
Hand washing with soap and water is also very important.
Remember to wash your hands:
After going to the toilet
Before eating or drinking
Before handling medication
All staff should clean their hands before having contact with
patients – do not be afraid to ask staff if they have cleaned their
hands if you are not sure if they have.
Other precautions you can take
Patients should avoid sitting on beds belonging to other
patients and visitors should use benches/chairs provided for
visitors rather than sitting on the beds.
Some bacteria survive in the skin scales that we shed and beds are
the place we are most likely to shed them. These bacteria can be
picked up by your skin or clothing and transferred to you.
Don’t share toiletries
If you have any wound dressings, stitches, drips or catheters
try not to touch them unnecessarily.
It is important that care is taken when these devices are touched
as they offer bacteria a direct route past your skin.
Comply with visiting times and numbers.
This allows for cleaning to occur and infection risks due to
overcrowding to be reduced.
Limit the amount of personal belongings that are brought into
hospital.
Storage on the wards is limited and it becomes difficult to
clean the area if it is cluttered.
Don’t visit if you are ill, have an infection or have recently
had diarrhoea or vomiting.
If you are unsure of what to do or don’t know if your condition
is infectious then please telephone the ward and ask for
advice.
While you are visiting at the hospital please do not use the
patients’ toilets
There are separate toilets for visitors.
Please help us keep our hospitals clean and tidy
Dispose of waste (for example used tissues or sweet
wrappers) in the waste bins provided.
We do not support food being brought in from home
But we do recognise that this does happen; however please
realise that we cannot reheat any foods not prepared in the
hospital nor share them with other patients.
How do we care for patients with infections?
Sometimes it is necessary to care for patients using extra
precautions. This may be if you have a confirmed or suspected
infection or are prone to infections. This could involve you being
moved to a room of your own. Staff may need to wear aprons and
gloves when they are caring for you. It is rare that visitors are
required to take extra precautions but this should be checked with
the staff looking after you.
If you have any questions about your care then please ask the staff
looking after you.
How do we know who has MRSA?
The Royal Wolverhampton Hospitals NHS Trust screens some
patients in accordance with Department of Health Guidelines. This
is for two reasons. The first is to ensure that patients being
admitted from other care settings, where there is a possibility
that they would have acquired MRSA, can be identified and treated
quickly to prevent themselves from developing an infection (e.g. in
a surgical wound or catheter). If you fall into one of the
identified groups then a swab will be taken from your nose, armpit
and groin as well as any wounds you may already have. These are the
common places on the skin where MRSA is found. You will have these
swabs taken by the nursing staff when you are admitted.
Patients are also screened if they are going to undergo a
procedure where it is important that an MRSA infection does not
occur. This includes Hip and knee replacements, some cardiac
surgery and vascular surgical procedures and if you are expected to
go to intensive care. Swabs will be taken from the nose, arm-pit,
groin and any wounds as above. If you attend the pre-operative
admission clinic on Appleby Suite these will be taken for you
there. If you are admitted straight to the ward, or are already in
hospital, the nursing staff on the ward will take the swabs for
you.
Please be reassured that the swabs do not hurt and are important
to protect you and other patients from acquiring an infection with
MRSA.
If you would like to know if you will be screened for MRSA when
you come into the hospital you should ask the staff in the area you
are seeing a health care professional (e.g. Appleby Suite,
outpatients or a ward).
If you would like a full list of patients who are screened for
MRSA then the Infection Prevention Nurses at New Cross Hospital can
be contacted.
What do we do if an outbreak of an infectious condition is
suspected?
The Infection Prevention team has close links with the Health
Protection Agency and Community Infection Prevention Nurse Teams
which helps to monitor levels of infectious conditions and share
information nationally and within our local area.
The Royal Wolverhampton Hospitals NHS Trust treats all incidents
and outbreaks seriously, an outbreak in hospital may need only two
patients to be identified with some conditions. Outbreaks and
incidents are reported within the hospital and there are systems in
place to help us to learn from these, to improve and plan for their
future management.
Outbreaks occur in both hospital and community settings, most
commonly viral gastroenteritis and flu type illnesses the spread of
these is difficult to prevent. To limit spread within the hospital
it is sometimes necessary to close wards to new admissions and
delay discharges. This helps to prevent further spread of the
infection into care settings within the community.
If you are a patient or visitor and are in an area affected by
an outbreak you will be informed by staff when you next visit or
may see signs informing you of extra precautions you need to
take.
It is important that if you are unwell you refrain from visiting
where possible. Particularly if you have any of the following
conditions:
- diarrhoea or vomiting illness
- Colds and flu like illness
- Chicken Pox, undiagnosed rashes
The Royal Wolverhampton Hospitals NHS Trust takes the prevention
and control of health care associated infection (HCAI) very
seriously. The Trust is committed to the promotion of good
infection prevention practices, we realise this can only be
achieved if all members of the team play their part. This team
includes anyone who works in the Trust, particularly those who work
in patient area. We also believe that patients and visitors can
play an important part in the prevention and control of
infection.
What should I do if I have any concerns about infection
prevention and control or cleaning?
We encourage patients and visitors to raise any concerns that
they have as they arise. Please speak to the nurse/midwife in
charge of the ward or department where you have the concern.