Public Health and Wellbeing

A collaboration between professionals in Microbiology and Infection Control serving West Wales

A paradigm shift in thinking

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I’m pleased to see that the Hywel Dda Health Board’s new strategic direction for the management of Healthcare Associated Infections is available to view on their Internet site.  The paper that outlines the proposals is

“Reducing HCAI through a paradigm shift in thinking: The Law of Multiple Small Positive Returns”

I wrote this paper for the board’s Quality and Safety Committee, which considered them in June, following a series of meetings that started in December 2013.  The Quality and Safety Committee is one of the Statutory Committees of the board and the complete suite of documents are available … Read the rest

When transparency is opaque

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I’m struck by the desire of the Welsh Government Health Department to encourage Health Boards in Wales to increase transparency in relation to Healthcare Associated Infection, which is commendable but as my title suggests, if we are not careful, may confuse our local population and in the worst case scenario, lead to anxiety.

As regular readers will be aware, I have a long abiding concern over the harms we can inflict on our patients and their relatives and said much in this area in my article, “Should I be worried about Healthcare Associated Infections“.   I became very interested … Read the rest

Should I worry about Healthcare Associated Infections?

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This is a healthy question for any potential patient to ask of their medical advisors, particularly if they are about to go into hospital for some form of healthcare intervention, be it surgery or some other form of therapy.  Every potential patient should be advised of all the risks they may face – that’s part of understanding and determining their decision to proceed with the advice of their physician.

The unhealthy question is much more the specific: “Should I be worried about MRSA or C diff?”  It’s understandable that people ask about specific organisms but it is rather a failure … Read the rest