- Infection Control for Patients and Visitors
Patients
Clean your hands: Please wash your hands - especially before eating and after using the toilet. There are sinks and alcohol rub available in all patient areas. Cleaning hands will protect you and your baby from infection.
Reduce clutter: Please keep patient belongings in the lockers provided and only bring essential items into hospital. Keeping wards free from clutter makes it easier to clean.
Ask staff if they have washed their hands: All the healthcare workers are aware of the importance of hand hygiene. Please feel free to ask them if they have cleaned their hands before treating you or your baby.
Wearing shoe/slippers: Wear slippers when walking around the wards. This keeps your feet clean so that bacteria cannot be transferred from your feet to the bed. If you see any dirt, dust or mess either around your bed or in the toilets or bathrooms please report this immediately to a ward staff. Tell staff immediately if your dressing becomes loose or a wound or intravenous drip site becomes sore or painful.
Visitors
Don’t visit if you are unwell: Please make sure you are free of symptoms for at least two days before you visit someone in hospital, especially if your symptoms include vomiting, diarrhoea, temperature, cold and/or cough.
Visiting times: Please adhere to the correct visiting times. The visiting times give hospital staff the time and space needed to carry out infection-control measures during the remainder of the day and evening.
Only have two visitors per patient at any one time: The more people that come onto a ward the greater the risk of infection to patients. Clean your hands; wash you hands with soap and water or use alcohol hand rub provided before entering the ward and when you leave. Sitting on patient’s bed: Please do not sit on the beds or put your feet on beds.
Using the bathroom: Please do not use the patients' toilets, there are separate public toilets available for use. Always wash your hands with soap and dry thoroughly after using bathroom.
Hand Hygiene
Everyone at National Maternity Hospital is committed to reducing our rates of infection and tackling infection is a top priority. We have made huge progress in the past few years and have seen significant reductions in our rates of Hospital Acquired Infection. The risk of getting an infection whilst in hospital is very low, but this does not mean there is room for complacency.
We have a dedicated Infection Control Team made up of a Microbiology Consultant, Infection Control Specialist and Surveillance Scientist. Infection Control Nurses/Midwives are in all clinical areas supporting the team for running the audits. We can give advice on infections and how to prevent them but it is the responsibility of everyone – staff, patients and visitors – to ensure that infection prevention practices are followed very carefully. We provide expert advice to all grades of staff on the management of infected patients and other infection control issues.
Some of the key functions of the team include:
Education to all healthcare workers, patients and visitors
Audit and surveillance (monitor infection rates)
Monitoring of hospital hygiene
Formulation of policies and procedures and expert advice
Outbreak management
- Additional Links
- World Health Organisation www.who.int
- Health Protection Surveillance www.hpsc.ie
- Remembering Baby Eibhlin www.rememberingeibhlin.org
- Infection Control Team
Dr. Susan Knowles, Consultant Microbiologist
Phone: via Hospital Switchboard - 01 637 3100
Email: sknowles@nmh.ie
Shideh Kiafar and Bronwyn Redmond, Infection Control Specialists
Phone: (01) 637 3350 Bleep 117
Email: skiafar@nmh.ie and bronwyn.redmond@nmh.ie
Carol O'Connor, Suerveillance Scientist
Phone: (01) 637 3533
Email: coconnor@nmh.ie
Louise Delany, Antimicrobial Pharmacist
Phone: (01) 637 3591
Email: louise.delany@nmh.ie
Dr. Elaine Houlihan, Clinical Microbiology Specialist Registrar
Phone: (01) 637 2049, Bleep: 315
Email: elaine.houlihan@nmh.ie