The financial impact of improved hand hygiene on healthcare-associated infections in the UK

Background: Though high hand hygiene (HH) levels significantly reduce the risk of healthcare-associated infections (HCAIs), the current cost of HCAIs and the impact of optimal HH practices on HCAIs are poorly defined. The last NHS England financial assessment was in 2009. Methods: The number of HCAIs per bed per year for NHS England were calculated and average costs were attributed using data from three sources; National Audit Office report, a commercially available calculator, and a financial analysis by a specialist paediatric hospital in England. Improved HH compliance for NHS England was based on a sustained rise in compliance rates from 50 to 80% combined with an HCAI reduction of at least 20%. The cost savings based on such improvements were then calculated. Results: In 2020, it is estimated that the number of HCAIs per bed per year ranges from 3.0 to 9.3, with a midpoint of 5.1. The direct costs of HCAI to NHS England were found to lie between £1.6 and £5 billion. Based on a 20% reduction in HCAI rates, this could lead to cost savings of between £322 million and £1 billion per year. Conclusion: Current direct costs of HCAIs consume approximately 1.3% to 4.1% of NHS England’s annual budget. Improving HH compliance among healthcare workers can lead to significant cost savings. There appears to be a strong financial argument for investment into innovative HH compliance technologies that have been historically perceived as too expensive.

Case Report – Possible Manufacturing Workplace Transmission of COVID-19

A COVID-19 cluster was identified in an industrial manufacturing workforce soon after being recalled to the workplace following a furlough period. All cases in the cluster (21/85) were male, worked on one side of the plant, and took breaks and lunch together. All non-cases worked on the opposite side of the plant and similarly took breaks and lunch together. Review of the timing of return from furlough determined that workplace transmission was possible. However, a high percentage of the cases lived in apartment settings where high neighbourhood incidence rates were observed, whereas that was not the case for non-cases. The investigation illustrates the difficulties of distinguishing potential occupational from community transmission.

Handwash versus hand-rub practices for preventing nosocomial infection in hospital intensive care units: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Background: Compliance with handwashing in busy healthcare facilities, such as intensive care units (ICUs), is suboptimal and alcohol hand-rub preparations have been suggested to improve compliance. There is no evidence on the comparative effectiveness between handwash and hand-rub strategies. This systematic review was to assess the effectiveness of handwash versus hand-rub strategies for preventing nosocomial infection in ICUs. Methods Studies conducted in ICUs and indexed in PubMed comparing the clinical effectiveness and adverse events between handwash and hand-rub groups were included in a systematic review. The primary outcome was nosocomial infection rates. Secondary outcomes included microbial counts on healthcare providers’ hands, mortality rates, patient/hospital cost of treatment of healthcare-associated infections (HCAIs), length of ICU/hospital stays, and adverse events. Studies were independently screened and data extracted by at least two authors. Meta-analyses of risk ratios (RR), incidence rate ratios (IRR), odds ratios (OR) and mean differences (MD), were conducted using the RevMan 5.3 software. Results: Seven studies published between 1992-2009 and involving a total of 11,663 patients were included. Five studies (10,981 patients) contributed data to the ICU acquired nosocomial infection rates. The pooled IRR was 0.71 (95% CI 0.61, 0.82; I2 = 94%). On sensitivity analysis, pooled IRR was 0.39 (95% CI 0.32, 0.48; 4 studies; 8,247 patients; I2 = 0%) in favour of hand rub. The pooled OR for mortality was 0.95 (95% CI 0.78, 1.61; 4 studies; 3,475 patients; I2 = 39%). The pooled MD for length of hospital stay was -0.74 (95% CI -2.83, 1.34; 3 studies; 741 patients; I2 = 0%). The pooled OR for an undesirable skin effect was 0.37 (95% CI 0.23, 0.60; 3 studies;1504 patients; I2 = 0%) in favour of hand rub. Overall quality of evidence was low. Conclusion: Hand rub appeared more effective when compared to handwash in ICUs.

La déviance positive : faire autrement pour améliorer l’hygiène des mains des infirmières Positive deviance: Doing things differently to improve hand hygiene of nurses

Contexte : Les difficultés rencontrées pour améliorer les taux d'adhésion à l'hygiène des mains des infirmières suggèrent que de modifier ce comportement est une tâche complexe. Une approche novatrice - la déviance positive - propose de déterminer la présence d’individus plus performants afin de comprendre les facteurs qui pourraient expliquer cette meilleure performance. Le but de cette étude était d’explorer, sous l’angle de l’approche de la déviance positive, les facteurs qui influencent la pratique de l’hygiène des mains des infirmières en contexte hospitalier québécois. Méthode : Deux ethnographies focalisées ont été effectuées auprès de 21 infirmières sur une unité de médecine-chirurgie et une de soins palliatifs d’un centre hospitalier universitaire de Montréal. La collecte des données s’est déroulée en 2015, principalement lors de 18 entrevues individuelles et 14 périodes d’observation. Les données colligées ont été codées et regroupées sous des catégories. Résultats : Au niveau individuel, les participantes reconnaissent l’importance des connaissances sur le rôle de l’hygiène des mains dans la prévention des infections. Au niveau organisationnel, on constate une pratique collaborative à l’intérieur de chacune des équipes de soins. Au niveau environnemental, la disponibilité des distributeurs de solution hydro-alcoolique facilite la pratique de l’hygiène des mains. Au niveau socioculturel, les deux équipes travaillent ensemble vers un but commun, ce que nous avons nommé cohésion sociale, favorisée sur l’unité de médecine-chirurgie par le leadership de son infirmier-chef et sur l’unité des soins palliatifs par une pratique de soins empreinte d’humanisme. Discussion/Conclusion : Les connaissances découlant de cette étude permettent de comprendre qu’afin d’améliorer l’adhésion à l’hygiène des mains des infirmières, il serait préférable de cibler les équipes de soins qui performent le mieux afin d’y puiser des idées pour aider celles avec une moins bonne performance et d’élaborer des interventions qui intègrent des facteurs à plusieurs niveaux, non seulement au niveau individuel, mais aussi aux niveaux organisationnels, environnementaux et socioculturels. Background: Challenges encountered in improving nurses’ hand hygiene adherence rates suggest that changing this behavior is a complex task. An innovative approachpositive deviance-propose to identify better-performing individuals in order to understand the factors that could explain their better performance. The aim of this study was to investigate the factors influencing nurses’ hand hygiene practices at a Quebec hospital from the perspective of positive deviance. Method: Two focused ethnographies were conducted involving 21 nurses on one medical-surgery unit and one palliative care unit at a Montreal university hospital. Data was collected in 2015, primarily during 18 individual interviews and 14 observation periods. The collected data was coded and sorted into categories. Results: At an individual level, the participants recognized the importance of knowledge of the role of hand hygiene in the prevention of infections. At the organizational level, we observed collaborative practices within each care team. At the environmental level, the availability of alcohol-based hand hygiene dispensers facilitated hand hygiene practice. At the sociocultural level, the two teams worked together towards a common goal, a practice we refer to as social cohesion, encouraged on the medicalsurgery unit by the head nurse’s leadership and on the palliative care unit by a humanistic care practice. Discussion/conclusion: The knowledge gained from this study shows that, to improve nurses’ hand hygiene adherence, it would be preferable to target better-performing care teams so that we may draw on their ideas to help less performing teams and develop interventions integrating factors at several levels, not only individually but also organizationally, environmentally and socio-culturally.