The winners of the 2014 schülke hand hygiene champion awards were announced at the Infection Prevention Society (IPS) conference in Glasgow on 30 September. There were two joint winners — Mitch Clarke (Queen’s Medical Centre, Nottingham) and Claire Scott, (manager of the medical assessment unit, Aintree University Hospital in Liverpool) — who received exactly the same scores from the judges. The awards were presented by Julie Storr, the outgoing IPS president, on the 19schülke exhibition stand.
This article examines the various elements that community nurses need to consider when attempting to provide best practice in urinary catheterisation. The author seeks to challenge what is considered best practice — particularly the requirement for all practice to be evidence based — while encouraging community nurses to think proactively about the care they are providing. The article stresses that the first principle of urinary catheterisation is to avoid the procedure where at all possible — catheterisation is potentially dangerous and can even be life-threatening if performed inappropriately. Overall, the author poses some key questions, including: should there be a difference in the care provided by community and hospital nurses; do community patients have the same needs as those in hospital; and can the manufacturers of drugs/products help to make avoiding urinary tract infections (UTIs) easier?
Meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) colonisation can lead to invasive infection and subsequently harm to patients. The prevalence of MRSA within care homes is poorly understood and, thus, the benefits of implementing a decolonisation regimen across a number of care homes was previously unknown. However, the MRSA prevalence surveillance outlined in this article showed that by proactively identifying MRSA carriers and decolonising residents, levels of MRSA fell from 10.2% in the first prevalence, to 6.8% in the second. The authors concluded that this simple strategy has the potential to reduce MRSA burden and patient harm.
Hand hygiene is a term used to describe the removal of microorganisms from the hands using soap or a cleansing solution and water (hand washing), or a waterless antimicrobial agent (hand rubbing) (National Institute of Health and Clinical Excellence [NICE], 2013; World Health Organization [WHO], 2013).
Infection prevention and control is an enormous challenge within the hospital environment, but with the changing face of the NHS meaning that more complex care is being provided in the community and within patients' homes, the goal of zero tolerance of preventable healthcare-associated infections (HCAIs) is even more of a challenge. So-called 'super-bugs' put a tremendous strain on NHS resources, as well as compromising patients' recovery, quality of life and wellbeing, and are increasingly being seen in the community. This article looks at the provision of infection control in the community and how nurses need to organise services that involve patients in their own care. It also investigates the use of a range of infection control products, including a wash cap (octenisan® wash cap [schülke]), specifically designed for use in immobile patients.
Community nurses’ caseloads may include a large number of catheterised patients and catheter-related infection is a significant problem, with up to 90–100% of those who are catheterised long-term going on to develop a catheter-associated urinary tract infection (CAUTI). For community nurses, ensuring that their skin and that of the patient has been cleansed before any catheter-related intervention is paramount. This article looks at the use of a new antimicrobial cleansing solution (octenilin®; Schülke) and whether its properties reduced the infection risk associated with catheterisation in the community.
Tim Sandle, Head of Microbiology, Bio Products Laboratory Limited, Watford
Urinary tract infections are often seen in community settings and can be debilitating for patients, involving dysuria (painful urination), increased urinary frequency and urgency, suprapubic pain, haematuria (blood in the urine), and polyuria (excessive urine production). This article takes an in-depth look at these symptoms, as well as the diagnosis and management of this common problem, which mostly affects female patients.
Chetan Shah, Senior Lecturer in Pharmacy Practice/Public Health, University of Hertfordshire
Stephen Goundrey-Smith, Consultant Pharmacist, PDC Healthcare Ltd, Leicestershire
