❓ A WA parliamentary question on notice regarding the presence and impact of specific pathogens in public hospitals, and the measures in place to prevent infection.
AnsweredQoN 943Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
(1) Does any public hospital in Western Australia have any of the following pathogens present now, or at any other time during the last 12 months:
(a) Enterococcus Faecalis;
(b) Morganella Infections; and
(c) Staphylococcus Lugduniensis; and
(i) if so, can the Minister outline which hospitals have reported the above pathogens over the last 12 months?
(2) How many patients have been affected by any of the above pathogens during the last 12 months?
(3) What are the symptoms of patients affected with any of the above pathogens?
(4) What procedures are in place to prevent such infections and warn patients of the risk?
(a) Enterococcus Faecalis;
(b) Morganella Infections; and
(c) Staphylococcus Lugduniensis; and
(i) if so, can the Minister outline which hospitals have reported the above pathogens over the last 12 months?
(2) How many patients have been affected by any of the above pathogens during the last 12 months?
(3) What are the symptoms of patients affected with any of the above pathogens?
(4) What procedures are in place to prevent such infections and warn patients of the risk?
AnswerView source ↗
Answered
16 June 2009
Responded by
Minister for Health
Response time
26 days
(1) (a - c) Yes.
(i) None of the above pathogens are notifiable.
(2) No comment can be made, as these organisms may be part of normal commissure flora.
(3) All three of these organisms are classified as commensals or occasional pathogens - that is they are usually carried asymptomatically in the intestinal tract (
Enterococcus faecalis
and Morganella spp) or on the skin (
Staphylococcus lugdunensis
). Detection in clinical specimens does
not
necessarily indicate the presence of an infection. Infection is rare in healthy members of the community but more common in hospitalised patients with underlying illness, following invasive procedures such as surgery, or while receiving antibiotic therapy.
A wide variety of infections can result in these vulnerable patients, including urinary tract infections, wound infections, sepsis, pneumonia, and endocarditis. Symptoms therefore will depend on the actual infection caused by the organism, which in turn is usually determined by the underlying medical condition of the patient.
(4) Preventive strategies for hospital-associated infections include optimal healthcare worker hand hygiene, high standards of environmental cleaning, adherence to infection control standards, and judicious antimicrobial use in hospitals. WA Health supports state-wide programs to improve hand hygiene and reduce central venous catheter and surgical site infections. Many Western Australian hospitals actively monitor antimicrobial use and have control strategies such as restricted formularies in place.
Patients are advised of the risk of infection in hospital as part of the informed consent process. Hospital infection control monitoring systems are linked to hospital-wide clinical governance structures, processes and response systems.
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http://www.rtlib.com
(i) None of the above pathogens are notifiable.
(2) No comment can be made, as these organisms may be part of normal commissure flora.
(3) All three of these organisms are classified as commensals or occasional pathogens - that is they are usually carried asymptomatically in the intestinal tract (
Enterococcus faecalis
and Morganella spp) or on the skin (
Staphylococcus lugdunensis
). Detection in clinical specimens does
not
necessarily indicate the presence of an infection. Infection is rare in healthy members of the community but more common in hospitalised patients with underlying illness, following invasive procedures such as surgery, or while receiving antibiotic therapy.
A wide variety of infections can result in these vulnerable patients, including urinary tract infections, wound infections, sepsis, pneumonia, and endocarditis. Symptoms therefore will depend on the actual infection caused by the organism, which in turn is usually determined by the underlying medical condition of the patient.
(4) Preventive strategies for hospital-associated infections include optimal healthcare worker hand hygiene, high standards of environmental cleaning, adherence to infection control standards, and judicious antimicrobial use in hospitals. WA Health supports state-wide programs to improve hand hygiene and reduce central venous catheter and surgical site infections. Many Western Australian hospitals actively monitor antimicrobial use and have control strategies such as restricted formularies in place.
Patients are advised of the risk of infection in hospital as part of the informed consent process. Hospital infection control monitoring systems are linked to hospital-wide clinical governance structures, processes and response systems.
Notice: This document is created or edited using unregistered or evaluation copy of rtLib valid for testing or development purposes only. To use it for productive or any other purposes please register it. You may purchase the license on
http://www.rtlib.com
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