INFECTION PREVENTION AND CONTROL
As such evidence suggests, electronic hand hygiene compliance reporting can change behaviours that will save lives.
Electronic monitoring technology – the solution to a safer NHS
Electronic hand hygiene monitoring offers the potential to improve health outcomes and save money at a time when health services are coming under increasing pressure. It can deliver real-time, accurate data to drive behavioural changes. There are currently pilots in electronic monitoring technology in two acute hospital trusts in England. The Care Quality Commission has noted the innovative practice to improve hand hygiene using technology as an area of outstanding practice.
But this technology is not new. It has been in use in the US for a number of years. A three-year pilot of the technology at a pioneering hospital in the US found a 29.6% reduction in the number of MRSA infections following the introduction of electronic monitoring. This saved the hospital direct costs in excess of $433,000, with the indirect costs likely to be far in excess of this. In his review into NHS productivity, Lord
Carter discussed the need to have real-time monitoring and reporting at NHS leaders’ fingertips. Electronic monitoring can deliver real-time, accurate data to drive behavioural change. Deb Group is currently piloting its electronic monitoring technology in two acute hospital trusts in England, which the Care
Isn’t it time we implemented change rather than just addressing the threat of hospital-acquired infections?
Quality Commission has noted as an innovative practice to improve hand hygiene using technology as an area of outstanding practice.
Deb Group’s analysis of publicly available data shows that on a conservative estimate, the impact of this in the UK would mean national savings of £93 million and freeing up 167,000 extra bed days – the equivalent of treating a further 35,000 patients. Not to mention, of course, saving countless lives.
The need for change
During the Westminster debate, MPs Jim Shannon and Nigel Mills, and Shadow Minister for Health and Social Care, Justin Madders, recognised the need for a change in the way that hand hygiene is measured. Justin Madders, said: “Staff naturally wash their hands much more frequently when being observed directly, which results in clearly overstated compliance rates of 90% to 100%. Academic research has found that typical compliance is actually between 18% and 40%. “As with any type of infection, healthcare- acquired infections can trigger sepsis, particularly in people who are already at risk
- for example, those with chronic illnesses such as diabetes, or those who are immuno- compromised, such as those receiving chemotherapy. The majority of cases do not derive from a hospital setting, but with 150,000 cases a year and 44,000 deaths, many of them preventable, sepsis is a critical safety issue for the NHS. The challenge is to recognise it in its early stages, before multiple organ failure sets in, and to implement rapid treatment. If it is left untreated for hours, the chances of death increase rapidly.”
Noting that sepsis in its early stages is
often dismissed as something less serious, Justin Madders asked the Minister to advise us on what processes are in place to monitor patients at risk from sepsis, adding: “What steps will he take to ensure that treatment is started without delay?” Justin Madders observed that vast sums of money on researching innovations to tackle illnesses and improve welfare are spent in the UK and around the world. He concluded: “Tackling hospital-acquired infections better would potentially put us in a position to prevent thousands of unnecessary deaths each year through the most basic of
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