MRSA Action UK: Vulnerable residents at risk of MRSA and C.diff as hospitals and care homes fail to communicate
MRSA Action UK welcomes the study conducted by the Care Quality Commission to gain an understanding of the practical arrangements for hospitals and care homes to work together on preventing avoidable infections. It comes as no to us that there are worrying findings around poor communication between the care providers, and we hope the study will help the Care Quality Commission understand the interventions that are needed to help reduce the numbers of cases of healthcare associated infections outside of hospital and in our care homes.
Earlier this year we warned of the risks that poor information and communication can pose. In particular to people when they are at their most vulnerable, it should not be forgotten that there is a commitment in the NHS Constitution that everyone should have a care plan, it should be discussed with the patient and the teams looking after them. If information is not shared between care providers, then people will be at risk from not receiving the care they need and if they have infection, possibly becoming more unwell than they need to be, potentially passing on the infection to other vulnerable residents.
There is good work being performed by the Improvement Foundation who have been commissioned by Strategic Health Authorities to support and train staff in care homes to understand and reduce the risks from infections. However this work will be severely undermined if the findings of the Care Quality Commission research are reflected across residential care and nursing homes in England and Wales.
The Improvement Foundation programme includes themed interactive workshops where professionals from across the primary care setting can come together to offer practical support and share experiences and good practice with experts from the Department of Health and Health Protection Agency. In working together to develop local strategies staff in care homes are seeing the rewards. There are already measurable improvements in actions taken to protect residents from the risk of infections. This has included an increase in the proportion of residents who go into hospital with their care plan, showing their infection status if this applies; and residents who come out of hospital with a care plan showing their infection status. Hand hygiene compliance, and appropriate antibiotic prescribing is also measured.
We would like to see the Care Quality Commission look at this good practice and ensure that all care providers are taking their responsibilities seriously and not working in isolation. A joined up approach to caring for patients and residents is needed, and communication is key in making sure this happens.
Failure to communicate not only undermines the good work being done by staff in care homes and hospitals, but also creates risks for the health and well being of other patients and residents.
From April next year the Care Quality Commission will have a pivotal role in ensuring there is a joined up approach to working and that communication between the relevant care providers is happening.
We have seen the devastating effects of not communicating and passing on information in many instances, and the impact this has for patients when things go wrong. Most of us who have lost a loved one to an infection have witnessed poor practice with record keeping and poor communication has played a major role in the demise of those we love.
Derek Butler
Chair
MRSA Action UK
Registered Charity No.1115672
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