Submitted by: Greg Garner

The nature of any healthcare facility is such that infections can pass on very easily between people if due care is not taken. Preventive measures like maintaining hand hygiene, using proper personal equipment, sterilization and vaccination become very important. However certain additional precautions are also necessary for minimizing the risks of communicable diseases and thus managing infection control more effectively.

The following 4 points will go a long way to ensure control in various healthcare facilities.

Hygienic Habits: Following a set of proper habits and etiquette will help to prevent certain common infections from spreading. You must maintain respiratory hygiene and use tissues while sneezing. Also use the appropriate cough manners and remember to cover your mouth while coughing. Furthermore always discard the tissues after use and clean your hands and face with water or disinfectant cleaners that may be kept around. Use of face masks and seating patients showing typical symptoms of cold and coughs separately are additional measures that can be taken.

Injury: Always take extreme care while handling any sharp instruments like needles and scalpels while administering treatment to avoid possibilities of Needlestick injuries. Remember to wear gloves to prevent any possible nicks or cuts. Also use proper devices to handle such objects and place them in a properly labeled and puncture-proof container immediately after use. If you are a patient and injure yourself due to any equipment or furniture in room, bring it to the notice of the nurse so that the injury can be treated promptly to eliminate the risk of possible infection.

Waste Management: Any healthcare facility generates substantial amounts of waste with some of it being hazardous. There should be a waste management plan in place which ensures that any contaminated materials are separated from the general waste and stored in special bags of the appropriate color and label indicating the same. Such waste is generally collected by special handlers and a record of the disposal must be maintained. Also remember to always wash your hands with a disinfectant soap after handling any kind of waste.

Guidelines: Each and every healthcare facility based on its specific set-up must have sufficient policies in place to manage infection control. A proper procedure should be laid down on how to handle disposable and reusable items. Disposable medical items and equipments, contaminated materials and blood should be discarded only in the manner prescribed. Also there should be suitable levels of cleaning for reusable items and other equipment with certain instruments requiring advanced sterilizations while others like furniture and even the floor and walls of the facility needing only a simple cleaning with a mild disinfectant.

Whether you are a doctor, nurse or any member of the healthcare facility, or even a patient, remember to ask the visitors to take due precautions like washing the hands and using face masks to ensure infections don t spread from them or to them. Alternatively the facility can put up prominent instructions and have disinfectant hand cleaners within easy reach to get across the message and importance of taking certain precautions.

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