Preventing Surgical Site Infections at Blackrock Clinic

Blackrock Clinic measures all incidences of surgical site infection and benchmarks them against international rates. Some of the key recommendations for practice we follow are:

• Hand Hygiene: Hand hygiene practices are strictly adhered to by all Blackrock Clinic staff. Our compliance in this is audited regularly.
• Pre admission screening: All high risk patients are screened pre-operatively. If an infection is found, it is treated in advance of surgery to avoid post-operative complications.
• Antibiotic Prophylaxis: Prophylactic (preventative) antibiotics are prescribed immediately before and sometimes continuing into surgery to reduce risk of wound contamination. Blackrock Clinic follows international guidelines regarding the antibiotic of choice for each type of surgery.
• Continuous Patient Assessment: We assess a patient’s health prior to surgery to ensure that they are fit for their procedure, and introduce control measures where appropriate. For instance, if a patient is diabetic, we maintain optimum sugar levels throughout the operation.
• Surgical Wound Management: Wound dressings are not tampered with or removed for 48 hours post –operatively unless there is a clinical reason. Wound inspection and dressing changes are performed using aseptic (no touch) techniques.

For further information, please download this information brochure from the Joint  RCSI/RCPI Working Group on Prevention of Surgical Site Infections (2012): Preventing Surgical Site Infections – Key Recommendations for Practice