Hospital infections

A guide to help you understand Hospital Acquired Infections

A recent rise in rates of hospital acquired infections is a cause of concern for politicians, healthcare professionals and the general public alike.

This guide has been produced to give you an insight into hospital acquired infections and the risk and dangers.

Some of the sections covered in this guide are:

• What are hospital acquired infections?

  Hospital acquired infections are all infections that do not originate from a patients original admitting diagnosis ie the condition they went into hospital for. Most infections that become evident after 48 hours of hospitalisation are considered hospital acquired.

• How great is the risk?

  At any one time, approximately one in 10 patients in acute hospitals, acquires a Hospital Acquired Infection (Department of Health/Public Health Laboratories Service, 1995) This translates to approximately 100,000 patients a year.

• What types of infections are there?

  There are a number of different types of infection that can occur in many places in the body, the most common of which are urinary (23%), lung (22%), wound (9%) and blood (6%) (Emmerson et al, 1995)

• What is the UK government doing about the problem?

  Control of Hospital Acquired Infections is a priority for the government. With the launch of the NHS Plan in July 2000 came the development of detailed action plans (control policies) to improve the cleanliness of hospitals.