Whilst the organisation of an infection control service isn’t everybody’s cup of tea, it is mine now. So, what are the key elements of a successful programme? A thoughtful review in Lancet ID penned by an all-star cast (including Zingg, Holmes & Pittet to name but a few) provides a framework for answering this question. Their systematic review yielded 10 key components:

1. Organisation of infection control at the hospital level;
2. Bed occupancy, staffing, workload, and employment of pool or agency nurses;
3. Availability of and ease of access to materials and equipment and optimum ergonomics;
4. Appropriate use of guidelines;
5. Education and training;
6. Auditing;
7. Surveillance and feedback;
8. Multimodal and multidisciplinary prevention programmes that include behavioural change;
9. Engagement of champions;
10. Positive organisational culture.

None of these are especially surprising, or that difficult to implement. It’s strange in a way that we know from multiple studies that high bed occupancy results in more transmission (specifically of MRSA). So why don’t we just reduce the rate of bed occupancy? If you account for the extended length of stay for patients who become infected, it would probably result in a net increase in patient throughput. Similarly, understaffing results in more transmission (again, specifically of MRSA). So why don’t we just make sure we hit adequate levels of staffing? I suspect the answer here is short-sighted accountancy combined with a genuine lack of the right staff to fill the necessary vacancies.

I’ve always found it a bit odd that the mere act of performing surveillance and reporting the results back to wards reduces HCAI – but there’s a fair amount of data behind this. I suspect it has to do with the type of people we are dealing with: busy healthcare professionals. If their unit’s rate of MRSA (or whatever) is, in the politest possible sense, in their face, they’re more likely to do something about it.

Finally, nurturing a positive organisational culture is crucial but somewhat philosophical. How do you measure whether your organisation has a positive culture? Perhaps perception is reality here, so the best approach is probably to consider organisational positivity as a highly transmissible infectious agent!