How Hospitals Prevent the Spread of Infections

People go to the hospital to seek treatment for their underlying medical conditions. Because of the various ailments and diseases treated in these health facilities, it is of utmost importance to ensure its cleanliness and sanitation. In this way, the contagion will be inhibited, paving the way for the complete healing of the patients. This article tackles how hospitals prevent the spread of infections for the benefit not only of patients but of the people working in these health care facilities as well.

Proper Hand Washing

One of the primary ways to prevent the spread of infections in hospitals is by proper handwashing. Proper handwashing is believed to be one of the fundamental cornerstones in reducing hospital-acquired infections. This is true not only for the healthcare providers working on the premises of the facility but for the patients, their personal caregivers, and visitors as well.

Proper handwashing entails the need for you to wash your hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds. This is essential for workers after touching a patient with exposed blood or secretions, as well as other contaminated items regardless of whether gloves are worn or not. For specific cases, an antimicrobial agent may prove to be necessary instead of plain soap.

Use of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)

Another way to prevent the spread of infections in hospitals is through the use of PPEs. Healthcare workers should wear gloves every time they need to touch blood or other body fluids and secretions. In addition to this, they also need to wear a mask and eye protection, as well as a face shield and gown particularly when they need to perform procedures and other patient-care activities that are most likely to generate a splash of blood and other body secretions.

Prevent Patients from Walking Barefoot

As part of infection control policies, patients are also advised not to walk barefoot on the hospital premises. Rather, the use of slippers or non-slip socks is recommended when walking around through the healthcare facility, even in their rooms. The reason behind this is that nurses and other healthcare practitioners, as well as other people wearing the shoes they used to walk outside of the facility, may bring in pathogens inside the hospital, including the patients’ room.

In some healthcare facilities, workers are required to change shoes, leaving the ones they used outside in a locker room, and using dedicated shoes for the inside premises of the hospital. This proves to be effective in low traffic areas such as the patients’ rooms and laboratories. However, for high traffic areas in the hospital such as the emergency room (ER) or the hallway, or even in cleanroom areas, the sanitation experts behind https://www.healthysole.com suggest the use of a sole disinfection solution. In this case, people entering the premises need to step on a mat-like device powered by UVC bulbs to ensure that any pathogens in their soles are eliminated.

Disinfection of Surfaces

Hospitals employ sanitation personnel to ensure that each of the surfaces in the facility is disinfected regularly. This is another way to prevent the spread of infections in the hospital. More often than not, a bleach-containing cleanser is used to ensure that any existing pathogens are eliminated. Apart from the surfaces though, it is also important to regularly clean the nurses’ stations, as well as the patients’ rooms. In terms of the latter, the linens and bedding in the rooms should be changed daily, as well as when it is soiled by the patient’s secretions.

Proper Infection Control Education

Finally, hospitals also prevent the spread of infections by properly educating their workers regarding their roles and how they can contribute to the health and safety of everybody in the facility. This means that staff workers need to be aware of the common infections that they are working with, including the ways on how they will be able to prevent them. The hospital staff must also be able to identify the contagion as soon as possible to ensure that they will be able to implement mitigating measures to prevent the spread of the infection immediately. From there, an infection-control policy should be in place.

Hospitals prevent the spread of infection by ensuring that each one of the people working in the healthcare facility is knowledgeable and practices proper handwashing. Alongside this, healthcare workers treating patients with contagious diseases are also provided proper PPE to wear. Patients are also discouraged from walking barefoot and surfaces of the hospitals are disinfected regularly. All these are geared towards preventing the spread of infections in hospitals.