Infection prevention cuts threatening patient safety

Following a poll of its members, the Infection Prevention Society (IPS) is urging health providers to maintain investment in infection prevention and control (IPC) teams to prevent serious risk to patient safety.

It is estimated that 300,000 patients a year in England acquire a healthcare-associated infection as a result of care within the NHS, annually costing the NHS at least £1 billion.

The poll found that 30 per cent of professionals working in infection prevention and control have witnessed a reduction in the IPC services where they work. Moreover, 28 per cent reported a reduction in IPC posts or hours, meaning that 35 per cent have been asked to do additional non IPC responsibilities as part of their job.

Additionally, 29 per cent of members polled stated that their most pressing concern associated with this was ‘serious risk to patient safety through infection spread’, while nine per cent highlighted ‘not being able to meet new national requirements such as E. coli targets in England’ as the main concern.

Dr Neil Wigglesworth, president of the IPS, said: “There is clear evidence that early intervention through infection prevention saves lives as well as significant cost to the NHS. While some hospitals and healthcare providers recognise this, with 65 per cent of our members reporting that infection prevention services are being extended or maintained, others are cutting back.

“This will have an inevitable impact on patient safety and could cause significant disruption to health service delivery. We are all working to achieve the new targets to reduce E. coli and other infections, and need NHS leaders and commissioners to maintain investment and help us reach these goals.”

IPS and NHS Improvement launched updated guidance for healthcare teams on reducing the risk of infection in healthcare settings in April 2017. High Impact Interventions can be found on the IPS website.