Paper Example on Policy on Infection Control and Surgical Procedures

Introduction

The hospital has drafted policies for preventing infections associated with the use of intravascular devices. The organization requires the use of intravascular devices that should be inserted into the venous and arterial bloodstream to bypass the normal skin to provide adequate protection and prevent infection by microorganisms that might enter the bloodstream. Therefore, the hospital requires that the device must be available at the time of insertion to avoid the subsequent contamination of the attachments. Also, the safety measures ensure that there is no contamination by pathogens, of the skin that surrounds the insertion site.

Is your time best spent reading someone else’s essay? Get a 100% original essay FROM A CERTIFIED WRITER!

Order now

Additionally, the hospital has embarked on essential standards for ensuring the safety and care of all patients to avoid the continued infection in the hospital environment. Hand washing, the use of gloves, mask for eye and face shield, gown, and patient-care equipment. On hand washing, the hospital requires all medical practitioners to wash hands after touching blood, excretions, secretions, and used gloves (Chapter 14: Hospital hygiene and infection control, n.d, p.154). Even after removing hand gloves, the practitioners should wash hands thoroughly with soap and plenty of water to avoid possible infection. In most cases, the hospital fraternity prefers the use of antimicrobial agents in specific circumstances to reduce the rate of infection. The use of gloves is crucial when there is a need to touch body fluids, secretions, and contaminated items including the mucous membranes and non-intact skin. Furthermore, the hospital requires medical practitioners to put on a gown to cushion them from spilling fluids during procedures including those that generate splashes including several sprays of blood and related fluids.

The hospital also provides guidelines for preparing patients for surgical procedures. For example, the hospital requires that there is a prolonged preoperative hospitalization to ensure that the ambulatory surgery is performed as fast as possible. The hospital also requires the total avoidance of the preoperative hair removal and if necessary, the procedure must be performed cautiously with the hair removed by clipping it with scissors prior to the surgery (Republic of Kenya, Ministry of Health and Sanitation, 2010, p.67). The hospital discourages shaving the hair using a blade and the wide preparation of the proposed incision site. The site must be washed thoroughly with an antiseptic solution and the professional must ensure that the cleaning process is done preoperatively.

Suggestions to improve patient satisfaction

The hospital should comply with the recommended directions provided by the world health organization and ensure the safety of the patients. For example, Overlake should reduce the number of campus entry points. Notably, modifying the entrances ensures that all patients will be satisfied with their safety issues, especially if the hospital can only allow two entry points open and conduct regular screening services. For instance, the hospital should introduce policies that necessitate answering several questions and ensuring the non-contact temperature check for all patients to identify everyone with their temperatures exceeding 100.0 degrees F (Overlake Surgery Center, 2020). Those with fever, cough, and shortness of breath including those who had traveled and had diarrhea in the last three days should not enter the facility (the hospital campus) unless they are patients seeking treatment or have doctor appointments. Lastly, the hospital should provide disinfectants to patients to ensure that they suppress bacterial activity by frequently washing their hands to eliminate germs and toxic chemicals in the hands of doctors who handle their patients (Overlake Surgery Center, 2020). The more a patient washes the hands using disinfectants, the more actively they eliminate the toxic substances that clang on the skin surface. The disinfectants are important during the disinfection of human tissues as well to inactivate pathogenic bacteria and other microorganisms such as fungi, and viruses.

Generally, patients will be more satisfied if the hospital administration can maintain topnotch levels of hand hygiene to avoid nosocomial infections. Hand hygiene involves frequent hand disinfection and maintaining primary preventive measures that might increase contact infections. However, the hospital should sensitize patients to wash their hands with large quantities of water and soap to eliminate all transient flora and related contaminants. Routine hand washing after physical contact with the patient can help reduce the rate of infection due to its ability to kill a greater percentage of all transient flora within the shortest duration possible. Other than soap and water, patients and caregivers can be educated on how to sanitize their hands using alcohol-based preparations after contact with infected tissues and body fluids without gloves.

Problem statement

Overlake hospital violated patients' rights under the Americans with Disabilities Act. The hospital was found to have violated the rights of a deaf patient for failing to provide the client with a sign language interpreter before service delivery at the facility in June 2014. Although Overlake hospital promised to provide one, there was no interpreter and the patient's condition worsened, leading to cesarean section. The patient's partner, who is deaf as well, was not offered any sign language interpreter. Therefore, the hospital committed gross misconduct that was against the law. Therefore, it needs to adopt new policies and procedures that can ensure that the deaf are provided with adequate auxiliary aids and related services to guarantee effective communication. For example, training staff on effective communication requirements and ensuring that they provide sign language interpreters at all times is a good solution to the problem.

Significance

The project will inform the hospital facility on the importance of adequate staffing to ensure that the organization has the right number of workers. An adequate number of employees will ensure that patients are handled with consideration and that their dignity and respect are maintained to avoid possible harassment, abuse, and discrimination that might manifest itself during care provision. Also, adequate staffing will ensure that the privacy, confidentiality, and security of patients are maintained and they can receive the best spiritual care as well as the sanitary environment, more so at the time of the novel coronavirus pandemic (Overlake Surgery Center, 2020). Adequate personnel at Overlake hospital can ensure that there are no communication restrictions and issues to do with the language barrier can be easily solved because there will be plenty of staff who take the initiative to improve message conveyance. Adequate staff means that the hospital will have the proper patient disclosures and handling all records with confidentiality. Therefore, patients including those with disabilities will have the opportunity to either approve or refuse certain services in conformity with the law (Overlake Surgery Center, 2020). Further, patients will have the autonomy to receive complete information when there is a need to carry out a diagnosis, evaluation, treatment, and prognosis. The hospital will have a workforce with diverse backgrounds with the capability to involve all patients in decision-making, especially when they need to decide between right and wrong in patters that require consent or refusal of care and treatment. Adequate staffing can ensure that medical professionals can provide a wide range of solutions to the problems and help them make decisions regarding clinical conditions.

References

Chapter 14: Hospital hygiene and infection control. PP. 148-158. Retrieved April 9, 2020, from https://www.who.int/water_sanitation_health/medicalwaste/148to158.pdf

Overlake Surgery Center. (2020). Patient Rights at Overlake Surgery Center. Overlake Surgery Center. Retrieved April 9, 2020, from http://www.overlakesurgery.com/patients/rights-and-responsibilities/

Republic of Kenya, Ministry of Health and Sanitation. (2010). National Infection Prevention and Control Guidelines for Health Care Services in Kenya. Retrieved April 9, 2020, from http://www.ashcott.com/images/IPC_GUIDELINES.pdf