Confident we are clean and safe

We know that one of our patients’ top priorities is to be treated in clean and safe hospitals. Coming into hospital can be a daunting experience, and it’s important that our patients can be confident, not only in the clinical care they receive but in the environment in which they receive it. This is why infection control is within our key objectives for us.

Watch our video on hand hygiene and how you can help to reduce the spread of infections in our hospitals.

This determination means that Buckinghamshire Healthcare continue to perform significantly above average nationally in infection control rates.

Infection control

The control of infections is a constant fight, and one in which Buckinghamshire Healthcare infection control staff have a wealth of knowledge and expertise, and are ever vigilant.

The latest comparative data available shows our hospitals as being among the third best of trusts for rates of C. difficile and MRSA. Our hospitals are among the safest in the country, and our skills in identifying and managing patients with C. difficile in particular are sought from our peers.

Weekly infection control data

From 5 July 2010 a new weekly reporting schedule for MRSA Bacteraemia and C.difficile infection will be introduced, with tables being published every Wednesday to cover a rolling 12-week period, reflecting data up to and including the preceding week.

This data will be reported by hospital rather than by Trust. These are not official statistics and caution must be taken when viewing them as they will not necessarily reflect the true picture. Monthly data is verified by the Trust and signed off by the Chief Executive, and is then published by the Health Protection Agency on their website the following month. The best comparative data is published on an annual basis and includes information on rates as well as the 'raw' numbers, which allows a true comparison of performance with other similar-sized Trusts.

View the weekly data for Buckinghamshire Healthcare here. 

MRSA screening

All emergency admissions and patients admitted for planned or day case procedures are now screened for MRSA, except for those exempt under Department of Health guidance. Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust is compliant with the Department of Health's screening guidance issued in December 2008.

Zero tolerance

In 2007, we introduced a zero tolerance approach to poor hand hygiene for all staff who work in clinical areas. Our infection control staff actively

monitor the number of such staff complying with this policy through regular audits.

Latest figures from the Health Protection Agency (HPA) for 2009/10 show that infections across the NHS in Buckinghamshire continue to remain low in our hospitals.

Over the last year, Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust has halved the rate of C.difficile infections in patients aged two and over, with 2009/10 seeing just two cases per 10,000 bed days compared to four last year. The average rate across the UK was 3.6.

Figures also show that Buckinghamshire healthcare had below the national average of MRSA bacteraemia cases per 10,000 bed days, reporting 0.49 cases against an average of 0.50 nationally. This figure includes cases acquired within the community. 

National involvement

Dr Jean O’Driscoll, Director of Infection, Prevention and Control, is a member of the UK Department of Health working group on prevention and control of C.difficile. This group has recently produced national best practice guidance for use by the NHS as a whole, and Dr O’Driscoll’s experience and expertise is widely sought-after. She was recently elected onto the executive committee of the European Study Group for C.difficile, which has published European-wide guidelines on the control of this infection.