Infection prevention and control

Blitz the Bugs!

Birmingham Women's has launched it's Blitz the Bugs ….it's in all our hands' Campaign, our commitment to Infection and Prevention Control.

The Trust takes Infection Prevention & Control very seriously and is committed to ensuring that our staff, patients and visitors are protected from healthcare associated infections. We are proud of our excellent reputation and continued success in relation to Infection Prevention and Control performance.

Please help us to maintain our high standards by:

• Washing your hands or using alcohol hand gel on entering and before leaving wards and departments
• Helping us to keep our hospital clean and tidy
• Not visiting patients if you are unwell with signs of an infection   (such as diarrhoea, vomiting, fever or flu like symptoms)
• Letting us know if you have any questions or concerns regarding  infection prevention and control or standards of cleanliness

How are we doing?

Healthcare associated infections

We have not seen any infections in any of the categories subject to monitoring by the  Department of Health as part of their mandatory surveillance, (MRSA, Clostridium Difficile) for over 7 years. More information on healthcare associated infections can be accessed at www.hpa.org.uk.

More information about infection control at our Trust can be found in our Infection Control Annual Report for 2008-09

External Monitoring

In June 2009 the Care Quality Commission (former Healthcare Commission) visited the Trust and asessed our performance against the Hygiene Code during an unannouced visit. This was to assess how well we are protecting patients, workers and others from the identifiable risks of acquiring a healthcare-associated infection (HCAI). As of 1 April 2009, all NHS trusts must meet government regulations, which are supported by the code of practice on HCAIs and related guidance.

They found no evidence that the trust has breached the regulations to protect patients, workers and others from the risks of acquiring a healthcare-associated infection. You can access the full report at www.cqc.org.uk

MRSA Screening

In line with Department of Health guidance many of our patients are now screened for carriage of MRSA before or on admission. For further information you can view our MRSA screeing policy.

This page was last modified on Thu Jul 29 2010