Preventing The Spread Of Bacteria In Your Hospital
Posted on: 28 June 2019
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Bacteria is present almost everywhere. In a hospital, you, your staff, and your patients will be dealing with bacteria regularly. However, to prevent the spread of bacteria that could cause illnesses and infections, it's smart to consider the following in your protocols.
Training for Staff
Anytime new employees go through orientation at your hospital, it's likely that they sit through a few classes and are trained on various aspects of work in your facility. However, training regarding bacteria and best practices is sometimes overlooked, largely because handwashing and other basic activities are assumed to be known. Ensure that each new employee, whether they'll work in surgery or in the cafeteria, is taught or reminded how to handle themselves so that bacteria transmission is kept at a minimum.
Procalcitonin Testing on Appropriate Admitted Patients
If doctors determine that a patient needs to be admitted, it's important to know whether they have a bacterial infection—not only for themselves, but so the others in the hospital can stay healthy. A simple way to gain that knowledge is to test their procalcitonin levels.
Procalcitonin (PCT) is a peptide produced in high amounts when sepsis or some kind of bacterial infection exists. Getting positive results on this test can enable health care providers to better care for a patient. In addition, they will know to take more precautions with their care, which should reduce the spread of bacteria around the hospital. PCT tests can be purchased online and through typical medical supply agencies. The test can be administered and results can be seen in a matter of minutes.
Rethink Sick Days and Scheduling
Often, hospital employees may work when they're under the weather or return to work before their own colds, illnesses, and infections have fully been treated or resolved. When someone is at work with a cold, for example, it's usually because they could not afford to take the time off or they had trouble finding someone to work their shift.
For those reasons, you need to work with supervisors to rethink the way your hospital handles sick time and the way that scheduling is done. Sick people need to know that they can stay home and recover without having to worry about their jobs. You might, for instance, contact per diem nurses and aides to come in for workers that are sick. You can work with several agencies in the area who can supply some workers when sickness is an issue.