Ann Infect Dis Epidemiol | Volume 1, Issue 1 | Research Article | Open Access
Muhammad A Halwani1*, Nidal A J Tashkandy2, Alison E Turnbull3 and Osama O Dhafar2
1Department of Medical Microbiology, Al Baha University, Saudi Arabia
2Department of Health Affairs, Ministry of Health, Saudi Arabia
3Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, USA
*Correspondance to: Muhammad A Halwani
Fulltext PDFBackground: The objective of this study was to analyse the infection prevention and control practices in twelve hospitals in Jeddah in order to monitor, assess, and then develop a standardized infection control program that could be implemented in these hospitals aiming for better patient safety.
Methods: After an initial assessment of all twelve hospitals, a qualified professional from the infection control administration, who acts as an auditor, visited each hospital every four months from January 2009 to December 2011 providing feedback after every visit. The auditor used a set of performance indicators that were based on the British Infection Prevention Society’s auditing tool for monitoring infection control standards and were modified based on the nature of the local practice to reflect the clinical environment of Jeddah hospitals. Compliance with all 55 performance indicators tested was recorded during each visit. The overall compliance for each hospital was calculated yearly and hospitals that were at least 60% compliant were labeled as acceptable.
Results: Routine audits after the completion of the study revealed that only 36% (37/104) of the infection control departments (ICDs) in the Jeddah hospitals were supervised by specialized personnel. In addition, 44% (44/101) of ICDs supervised and managed isolation rooms properly, and 50% (52/104) of hospital sinks were equipped with the required tools for hand washing. Decisions that were made by the infection control committee were followed by 45% (47/104) of ICDs, and 53% (55/104) of infection control committee decisions were implemented. Conclusions: Development of a standardized infection prevention and control program with regular audits and feedback resulted in improved infection control procedures in Jeddah’s Ministry of Health hospitals. We believe that this program would also be of great use for improving infection control practices in other regions of the Kingdom as well.
Halwani MA, Tashkandy NAJ, Turnbull AE, Dhafar OO. Analysis of Infection Prevention and Control Activities in Jeddah’s Ministry of Health Hospitals in Saudi Arabia: A Three-Year Project. Ann Infect Dis Epidemiol. 2016; 1(1): 1003.