Report highlights hospital health risks

THERE’S been a mixed reaction to news that a patient with a known transmissible disease was cared for in a cubicle open to the corridor in Connolly Hospital for more than 30 hours.

The shocking incident, which posed a

“serious risk

? to other patients, was highlighted in a report released by the Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA) last week.

The report also found that the culture of hand cleaning was not yet embedded in the Dublin 15 hospital, which is a major academic teaching hospital.

According to HIQA, the hospital breached standards when

“a patient with a known transmissible disease was being cared for in a cubicle in the emergency department for over 30 hours; the cubicle opened directly to a corridor where other patients were being cared for

?.

“This posed a potential risk of spread of health associated infections (HCAIs) to these patients,

? the report stated.

On the day of an on-site assessment, HIQA also found that the

“cleaning process in the room of a patient with a known communicable/transmissible infection did not comply with standards.

?

According to the report these concerns were immediately reported to the hospital manager who put in place the necessary actions to mitigate the risks.

However, concerns were also raised in relation to the hospital’s hand cleaning initiatives.

“Whilst the authority [HIQA] recognises that the hospital had implemented a number of initiatives to improve hand hygiene, the reported compliance rate for the hospital would indicate that a culture of hand hygiene is not yet embedded across the organisation.

“This must be addressed as a priority by the hospital.

?

The report also noted a 97 per cent attendance rate among doctors at IPC Standards Precautions training which included hand hygiene practice and mandatory training sessions from January to September 2012.

“The hospital reported that the high attendance rate for doctors was in part as a result of an initiative to withhold parking permits until training was completed,

? the report stated.

The findings from the report have been met with mixed reaction from two Fine Gael TDs.

Local councillor and member of the HSE regional committee Kieran Dennison (FG) expressed disappointment at HIQA’s findings in relation to Connolly Hospital.

“I was surprised that basic hand hygiene is still an issue in a major hospital such as Connolly,

? he said.

“Only half of the staff have received the mandatory infection prevention and control (IPC) training, which includes hand hygiene practice.

“Doctors in particular seem to think they are above all this. While the audit team found a 97 per cent attendance rate for the training, the hospital reported that the high attendance rate for doctors was in part as a result of the initiative to withhold parking permits until training was completed.

“I get the impression that many doctors did the training just to get the parking permit as their compliance rate in hygiene practice was only 65 per cent compared to 88 per cent for all other staff.

?

However, Cllr Dennison’s party colleague Cllr Bill Tormey (FG) who is also a consultant in Connolly Hospital said it was easy to be critical when the situation in the hospital is

“taken out of context

?.

“It’s easy to be critical without giving the full context of how seriously under-resourced Connolly Hospital is,

? he told Northside People.

“I do think that HIQA is a very good pressure group with the function of improving standards in hospitals which can only be a good thing.

“But just because HIQA says something doesn’t mean it’s gospel and tomorrow this report could be the wrapping on chips.

“It’s very hard to eliminate all bacteria from every environment and where are you supposed to move a patient with a transmissible disease if there are no free isolation beds?

?

Cllr Tormey described the emphasis on hand hygiene courses as

“way over the top

? and

“overkill

?.

“It’s a matter of professionalism,

? he stated.

“I’m a doctor, I’m not stupid, so I find it absurd to have a course in hand washing. That’s why courses such as these lose their credibility.

?

The Northside consultant, who is one of the longest serving staff members in Connolly Hospital, said there would be

“no chance

? that he’d do a course in hand hygiene as it’s common sense and that he would never allow his parking permit to be withheld.

A spokesperson for Connolly Hospital said it has developed and implemented an action plan to reduce and actively manage the risks identified following the HIQA inspection.

“Any risk identified that required immediate action was addressed by Connolly Hospital straight away,

? she told Northside People.

“Connolly Hospital is committed to providing a quality and safe service for all patients and this is a high priority for the hospital management team.

?