Infection control
Infection control: lessons learned during Covid
Lucy Caldwell, nurse advisor at Standex Systems, explores infection control and the challenges faced by care services during the pandemic, with a focus on how these challenges were overcome and the lessons learned from them
The year 2020 sprung a pandemic on us that was to change our way of working, socialising and spending time with our loved ones. It was a year that scared us, challenged us and made us reassess our priorities in life. The year 2020 affected us all directly,
as well as our families and the people we know and love. While the Covid vaccine programme is in full swing and there is an ever-brightening light at the end of the tunnel, it has not taken away the uncertainty and upset that we all experienced collectively. As nurse advisor at Standex Systems,
I have been talking to customers to get an idea of how they felt they handled the pandemic and all its challenges, with a focus on infection control planning, i.e. what they feel they did well, how they coped and what they would do differently looking back.
The most testing of times Firstly, I asked what they felt they had done well. The overall response was that the homes had done overwhelmingly well in such challenging circumstances. Infection control practices were already in place as part of their day- to-day routines, as many homes had experienced outbreaks of infection previously, such as norovirus and other respiratory viruses. Many care homes therefore had
procedures in place for isolating services users and managing infection, such as keeping service users in their rooms; following infection control policies; and creating bubbles for service users and staff to minimise multiple contact and reduce cross-infection. However, it became clear that,
as many service users fell ill at once and staff numbers were reduced due
to sickness, the situation became magnified and, in turn, the Covid pandemic was a far greater challenge than ever experienced. One home said it was “very proactive
in how we discussed and reflected on what we needed to do to keep ourselves safe” and daily meetings were held to ensure both service users and staff were supported and protected to the best of their abilities. In addition, there was strong pressure
to “keep the NHS safe” - as one care home put it - and they “needed to take admissions” of service users with Covid back from hospital. Naturally, care homes would do whatever the guidance recommends at the time. Yet this turned out to be catastrophic for some services when residents with Covid were readmitted to the home and infection spread. One manager said she refused to take
admissions from hospitals and, although this went against guidance and made her feel terrible, she was pleased she had stood firm.
Adopt, adapt and improve The growing number of hospital admissions and requirement for hospital beds increased dramatically and so the onus was on care homes to take service users back. This meant robust infection control actions were required. As the scale of infections rose and
poor outcomes became clear, however, one home said it re-evaluated what was happening to it. “We felt very much that we were in steerage on the Titanic!,” it said. “I think what we did well was being able
to see where our strengths lay and what our weaknesses were. We took what we
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www.thecarehomeenvironment.com • December 2021
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