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Aim(s)/Objective(s):
An ongoing research project addresses people in
hospitals responsible for services on built environments. The aim of
this project is to systematically uncover the present situation of
Legionella
prevention in water systems in selected health care (HC)
organisations in different countries. The project contributes to
working out a
‘
reference system
’
guiding people responsible to
identify, understand and properly take action for prevention.
Method(s):
The stakeholder theory provides a suitable theoretical
framework to analyse the relation between policy issues, responsibil-
ities and activities of people participating in processes serving water
systems to contribute to prevention and hygiene. The theoretical drive
of this research is inductive, based on a qualitative approach of data
collection, divided into two consecutive phases.
Results:
Preliminary results exemplarily present the organisational
structure, legislative frames regarding water safety and
Legionella
prevention, types water systems and related services and processes,
seen from the FM/FS perspective with a technical focus.
Discussion and/or Conclusion(s):
Each hospital representing a case
study will work out further endeavour on managing risks properly
according to organisation
’
s specific necessities.
ID: 4983
Hand-held device decontamination within healthcare
environment
Monika Muzslay, Samuel Yui, Shanom Ali, Peter Wilson.
University
College London Hospitals
Background:
The use of mobile phones and tablet computers has
become widespread in the clinical environment. These hand-held
devices may be contaminated with microorganisms and become a
potential reservoir for cross-transmission of pathogens between
healthcare workers and patients.
Aim(s)/Objective(s):
To determine the efficacy of the Codonics
D6000
™
UV-C disinfection technology to decontaminate hand-held
mobile devices used in a hospital setting.
Method(s):
D6000
™
was introduced on two wards. Tablets were not
disinfected on the control ward. After 2 months of use a cross-over was
performed with a washout of one week.
Surface sampling using blood contact plates (25 cm
2
) were taken from
the tablet screen before and after disinfection and also from the tablet
case (pre-disinfection only).
Results:
The median aerobic colony counts (ACC) on tablets sampled
on test and control wards was 8 [interquartile range (IQR) 4
–
14] cfu/
25 cm
2
and 12.5 (IQR 5
–
30.5) cfu/25 cm
2
respectively (n = 102).
After UV disinfection the contamination reduced to 0 cfu/25 cm
2
on
80% of tablets, median ACC was 0 (IQR 0
–
0) cfu/25 cm
2
.
The median ACC on cases sampled on test and control wards was
37.5 [IQR 21.3
–
59] cfu/25 cm
2
and 78.5 (IQR 38.3
–
146) cfu/25 cm
2
respectively.
Discussion and/or Conclusion(s):
D6000
™
effectively reduced
contamination on tablets used in healthcare environment, but not
all protective cases could be decontaminated by this method.
There is no generally accepted guidance how to reduce contamination
on mobile devices in healthcare settings hence there is an obvious
demand for novel approaches to ensure patient-safety and minimize
risks posed by contaminated computers and mobile phones in clinical
settings.
ID: 5125
Hand scanners
−
are they a risk?
Allison Sykes, Robert Forder, Audrey Perry, Manju Narayanan,
John P. Perry.
The Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Background:
Many hospital staff are obliged to use hand scanners to
monitor their entry and exit into the workplace. We hypothesized that
such scanners may provide an additional reservoir of pathogenic and
antibiotic-resistant bacteria that may predispose to cross contamin-
ation between staff.
Aim(s)/Objective(s):
A microbiological evaluation was conducted to
assess hand scanner contamination, with door handles commonly
used by staff sampled for comparison.
Method(s):
The study had two stages:
Stage 1
–
Six of the most commonly used scanners situated at the
entrances to our hospital and door handles/push plates of the main
male and female changing rooms were swabbed twice a day for 8 days.
Stage 2
–
four hand scanners and four changing room door handles
nearer clinical areas were swabbed twice a day for 8 days.
A total of 160 samples were taken and the samples cultured for
Staphylococcus aureus
(MSSA and MRSA),
C. difficile
and faecal
organisms (Enterobacteriaceae and enterococci).
Results:
Target bacteria were recovered from 13.8% of samples and
included MRSA (
n
= 1), MSSA (
n
= 18) and faecal bacteria (
n
= 3).
Discussion and/or Conclusion(s):
Staphylococcus aureus
were recov-
ered from hand scanners and door handles that are commonly used by
staff despite the fact that hand scanners are cleaned twice a day. There
was no statistical difference in the results from hand scanners versus
frequently used staff door handles. Effective hand hygiene practices to
prevent contamination of hand scanners needs to be re-enforced to
minimize the risk of spread of pathogenic and antibiotic-resistant
bacteria.
ID: 5162
MRSA and ultrasound
–
How does Isle of Man compare?
Muhammad Butt, Rohit Punj, Guy Sissons.
Nobles Hospital
Background:
With radiology playing an increasing role in diagnosis,
Ultrasound (US) offers a relatively safe, radiation free method of
diagnosing multiple conditions. It also poses a higher risk of pathogen
transfer between patients, through the ultrasound equipment.
Aim(s)/Objective(s):
To assess for
Staphylococcus aureus
and methi-
cillin resistant
Staphylococcus aureus
found on US machines in Nobles
Hospital, Isle of Man.
Method(s):
We identified a total of 8 machines in the hospital. One in
each of the emergency department, intensive care unit, coronary care
unit, acute medical assessment unit and the gynecology department,
with a further three in the radiology department. With swabs obtained
from the microbiology department, we swabbed each machine in at
least 7 different key areas looking for
Staphylococcus aureus
and
methicillin resistant
Staphylococcus aureus
. These included the key-
boards, control buttons, US machine screens, US probes, gel bottles
and gel bottle holders. All samples were collected on the same
afternoon.
Results:
Of the 50+ samples obtained and analysed, none grew either
of the tested organisms.
Discussion and/or Conclusion(s):
The results from this study are
overwhelmingly positive indicating health care workers at Nobles
Hospital are prudent with infection control procedures. This can only
be beneficial for patient care. This is in contrast to studies undertaken
in both the UK and France, though these studies were over a longer
time period. We plan to repeat pan cultures over a longer period to
better understand the proficiency of infection control procedures in
Nobles hospital, however these results are encouraging.
ID: 5172
The impact of environmental decontamination in a
Candida auris
outbreak
Joanne Shackleton, Silke Schelenz, Melissa Rochon, Anne Hall,
Lisa Ryan, Rosie Cervera-Jackson.
Royal Brompton and Harefield NHS
Trust
Background:
Candida auris
(
C. auris
) is an emerging fungal pathogen
in the UK.
51 patients found to be positive associated with an outbreak of
C. auris
in a critical care unit.
Environmental sampling found
C. auris
in the environments of positive
cases.
Abstracts of FIS/HIS 2016
–
Poster Presentations / Journal of Hospital Infection 94S1 (2016) S24
–
S134
S88