Watchdog Helps Care Homes To Beat Infections

Health experts with Scotland’s care regulator are to tell a high-powered task force how homes for older people are leading the way in infection control.

The issue has troubled the health sector in recent years following repeated, high-profile hospital outbreaks of so-called superbugs, like MRSA.

Failing public confidence prompted the Scottish Executive to set up an infection control task force to tackle the problem head on and promote vital education on the subject across the entire health sector.

Now it is to hear evidence from the Care Commission, which carried out a detailed study of infection control procedures in the country’s care homes for older people.

Susan Brimelow, the Director of Healthcare Regulation, will tell the task force about the findings of the first ever national review of Cleanliness, Hygiene and Infection Control in Care Homes for Older People.

Inspectors carried out 916 visits to care homes – more than half unannounced – as part of the study, which involved 60% of Scotland’s entire care home establishment.

While they found that 8 in 10 homes were practising good infection control procedures, 209 of the 916 homes sampled were issued at least one recommendation or requirement for improvement.

Mrs Brimelow, a highly-experienced nurse and senior manager with a post-graduate Masters degree in Nursing and Health Studies, said:

“We firmly believe the right approach is to work with the care providers, so that regulation is helping those services to improve. We are very much about influencing improvement.

“However, where it becomes necessary we will take firmer action in if our recommendations or requirements are ignored then we will move to enforcement. Of the 916 inspections in this study, that was only necessary in four cases.

“The good news is that the figures were better than we’d hoped for, though there is certainly no question of complacency being allowed to creep in.

“As well as working closely to develop education and best practices, we will continue to put hygiene, cleanliness and infection control at the heart of inspection and regulation.

“We have an extremely important role to play, along with the NHS, the Executive and all other parties with an interest in improving all aspects of hygiene and infection control.”

Scottish Ministers published Infection Control Standards for adult care homes in March 2005 to drive up standards, setting out best practice in infection control, including cleanliness and hygiene.

Mrs Brimelow added:
“We believe Care Commission inspections may have already had a positive impact on infection control, but things need to continue to improve and we look forward to seeing that happen.”

During inspections, Care Commission Officers regularly asks people who use care services to comment on the quality of the service they receive. The Commission’s study found 95% were satisfied or very satisfied. However, that figure dropped to 43% in those homes where a requirement was made.

Jacquie Roberts, Chief Executive of the Care Commission, acknowledged care homes
faced particular challenges and added:

“These services are not hospitals – they are people’s homes and must balance the need to reduce the risk of infection against the importance of maintaining a homely and welcoming environment.

“Despite this, the same basic rules will help to keep infection to a minimum. Staff training and awareness is of the utmost importance, as is raising awareness amongst families and visitors of the impact that some basic cleanliness and hygiene practices can have to prevent infection.

“Frequent and thorough hand washing is relevant to everyone everywhere. Everyone has a part to play to ensure that we continue to see steady improvement.”

The results of the study, first published in October 2005, will be presented to a meeting of the Healthcare Associated Infection (HAI) Task Force, on March 20. The session, in Edinburgh, will be headed by Paul Martin, the Chief Nursing Officer for Scotland.

The task force was set up in 2003 in response as part of the Scottish Executive’s commitment to tacking the issue through a comprehensive, coherent, wide-ranging and multi-disciplinary approach.