Infection Prevention & Control
Blackrock Clinic approach to Infection Prevention and Control
About one third of healthcare associated infections can be prevented. Here at Blackrock Clinic we take a very serious and zero tolerance approach to infection and are pro active in its prevention. A full time Infection Control Specialist Nurse is employed who overseas all aspects of infection control in the hospital and is supported by a consultant Microbiologist.
Steps that we take to prevent infection within our organisation are as follows;
- Hand hygiene facilities available for all persons entering and leaving the hospital
- Careful and appropriate use of antibiotic therapy
- A high standard of environmental cleaning
- Patients with infections will require isolation (all rooms in Blackrock Clinic are private) to prevent infection spreading from person to person. Visitors may be required to wear aprons before entering patient’s rooms
- Ongoing education in the prevention and control of infection is given to doctors, nurses and other healthcare professionals by the Infection Control Team
- Information leaflets for patients and visitors are available in the hospital
- We screen high risk patients for resistant organisms that can cause illness
- Flowers are not permitted in patient’s rooms
In addition visitors do play their part and we ask the following of them
- To practice good hand hygiene when visiting the hospital
- To avoid close contact if you are sick, have a fever or other symptoms of a contagious illness for example a cough, runny nose, vomiting, or diarrhoea. We request that you stay at home and not visit the hospital until the symptoms have subsided for 48 hours. (This includes children)
- Not to sit on beds but to use the chairs provided
- Not to use the patient’s bathroom facilities, instead to use the public bathroom facilities on each floor
- Not to change infant’s nappies in patient rooms but to use the nappy changing facilities in the bathroom on the ground floor
- Children are not permitted into the ICU department unless under special circumstances
We do hope you find this section of the website specifically dedicated to Infection Control helpful.
The infection Control Team can provide additional information if you have any queries, they can be contacted via this website or by phone 01 283 2222 (Ext 8053).
Please follow this link to read a recent article in the Irish Times “Health & Family” supplement, following Joanne Flanagan, one of Blackrock Clinic’s Infection Prevention and Control Nurse specialists, through her working week: