Introduction to NSQHS Standards
The National Safety and Quality Health Service (NSQHS) Specifications were developed in conjunction with the Australian Government, territories, financial industry, medical practitioners, and disciplines by the Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care. The National Safety and Quality Health Service Standards are designed to safeguard the community from injury while also improving the quality of health care provided (Healy, 2016). In this function, they serve as a quality assurance process, checking to see whether the necessary processes are in place to ensure that the correct safety and quality standards are fulfilled. High-prevalence adverse events, medical-related contamination, drug security, complete treatment, therapeutic interaction, pressure treatment and control, drop mitigation, and therapeutic harm mitigation are all covered by the National Safety and Quality Health Standards (NSQHS). On the internet, you may find the NSQHS Standards (Healy, 2016). Customers should expect a certain degree of care from their healthcare providers, according to the National Standards for Quality in Health Systems, which developed a consistent national statement. These prerequisites are quite important. The main objective of this paper is to objectively assess the criteria for prevention and management and attempt to control healthcare-associated diseases with a focus on the five moments of hand hygiene and how they relate to the nurse practitioner role, nursing interventions, and primary healthcare assessment in an acute-care setting.
Hospitals and clinics rely on infection prevention and control guidelines to help them prevent, control, and respond to infections that cause pandemics or epidemics, as well as emerging and novel diseases. However, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic that occurred in 2019, the standards were revised and enhanced in 2021, marking the first time that this had occurred in the industry (Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care, 2017). An important factor in the decision to make these revisions was the appearance of uncertainties and gaps in the answers offered during the response process. As a consequence of their actions, nurses who do not adhere to these standards become a severe source of worry since they put patients’ lives at risk of getting new diseases as a result of their actions. While working as a graduate on a surgical ward at Curtin Hospital, six patients approached the ward manager to express their dissatisfaction with nurses for failing to adhere to the hospital’s five-minute hand hygiene recommendation. Due to these circumstances, the company’s management has requested that a team of clinical nurses and registered nurses do an in-depth study of the literature on this topic.
Nurses are not following the five-minute hand sanitation regulation, according to a complaint regarding their hand cleanliness in the case study, which was investigated. A task force appointed by the World Health Organization was tasked with developing the five moments of hand hygiene that should be followed. Each of these five occasions is crucial in halting the transmission of infections and avoiding the development of disease. Nursing conduct is influenced by a nurse’s core beliefs and values as well as the attitudes and information she has throughout these five important moments. As stated by Soesanto (2020), nurses must be aware of the five hygiene moments since they are closely related to their professional role as nurses. Aside from the surgical ward at Curtin Hospital, the great majority of nurses around the world are completely unfamiliar with what is known as the “five seconds of cleanliness.” According to the findings of research done by Soesanto, there is a substantial variance in nurses’ level of knowledge of the five hygiene moments (2020). According to the same research, medical administrators may be able to reduce the knowledge gap by giving more frequent and quick training to their staff. Hospitals must communicate these principles to nurses in order for them to be well-trained and aware of their responsibilities while working on surgical wards. From their actions, it is clear that the nurses and non-medical personnel have a positive attitude about their jobs. The provision of ongoing training to nurses has the potential to improve the compliance of nurses. This is important because it will allow the nurses to remember the lessons learnt throughout their study experience, which will allow them to extend their knowledge and understanding, which will have a beneficial influence on their actions. Viruses and other infectious diseases must be avoided and managed to the maximum possible degree. It all comes down to risk assessment and mitigation, according to Volgenant et al. (2020). Despite the fact that it is impossible to completely remove all potential risks, establishing guidelines and adhering to them may help to mitigate their effect on the environment. It is certain that healthcare-associated ailments may arise if these criteria are not taken into account in a significant manner. According to Haque et al. (2018), healthcare-associated infections (HCAIs) are diseases that occur as a result of obtaining medical treatment. According to The Australian Committee on Accreditation of Healthcare organizations Care, there are a number of factors that influence patient safety and quality in health care in 2017. A variety of variables, including nursing irresponsibility, hospital hygienic standards, and nurses’ incapacity to comply with the norms and guidelines set forth, may all play a role in this circumstance. A patient is admitted to the hospital, and the infection begins to reveal itself 48 hours or more after the patient is hospitalized. Also noteworthy is the fact that it occurs 30 days after the patient has gotten medical treatment. Hand cleanliness has been recognized as the most effective strategy for lowering the occurrence of surgical ward-related infections. Despite the fact that infection control and prevention standards must be observed in all areas of a hospital setting, the surgical ward must pay particular attention to these requirements. Healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) are a serious public health hazard that is increasing in frequency and severity. They are responsible for prolonged hospital stays, increased morbidity, and a disproportionate number of in-hospital deaths (BMC, 2019). Having surgical procedures conducted on surgical wards continues to raise the probability of acquiring HALs in patients. According to Tan (2012), nurses, particularly those working in surgical wards, are known to be resistant to hand hygiene practices, which, according to Tan (2012), is generally recognised as one of the most critical factors leading to the development of HALs. Medical-surgical ward infections are most often caused by the presence of microorganisms on nurses’ hands, the dissemination of germs as a result of frequent cross-transmission, and the presence of bacteria on surgical instruments.
The Role of Hand Hygiene in Infection Prevention and Control
Conclusion
A great deal of worry has been expressed concerning the role of nurses in ensuring that individuals are protected from infection when surgical operations are carried out. Patients’ hospitalization after surgery for surgical site infections has grown to the number one spot on the list of healthcare-associated infections throughout Europe, and notably in Germany. Hand hygiene in nursing has been linked to a variety of risk factors, which have now been identified. According to Russo and colleagues (2020), surgical site infections have surpassed all other causes of postoperative problems after surgery to become the most prevalent. As a result of SSIs, a huge economic and clinical burden is imposed on healthcare systems and nurses, as well as on their patients. One of the reasons nurses fail to adhere to preventive and control standards is that most hospital systems lack a clearly defined definition, physical resources, and a safety culture policy, all of which are present in most hospitals. To ensure that nurses adhere to hand hygiene requirements, such as the usage of gloves, while responding to individual patients, it is vital to put in place robust monitoring methods. As a result, the hospital must construct a well-developed design, implement a critical monitoring system, and ensure that all nurses have received enough training. A training program and local hand hygiene assistants, according to Mahfouz and colleagues (2013), are vital in ensuring that effective and efficient hand sanitation is implemented in all components of health care management on surgical wards, including the operation room.
Briefly stated, the medical community is very interested in the challenges of infection control and infection prevention in general, as well as specific infections. Furthermore, as a result of the above, the role of nurses in ensuring that patients are protected from infection after surgical operations is becoming increasingly significant. Despite the fact that it is impossible to completely remove all potential risks, establishing guidelines and adhering to them may help to mitigate their effect on the environment. Healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) are among the most dangerous and quickly spreading public health problems, resulting in longer hospitalizations, increased morbidity, and an inflated estimate of in-hospital mortality as a consequence of their transmission. Furthermore, surgical site infections have surpassed all other causes of postoperative complications, accounting for almost half of all cases. As a result of SSIs, a huge economic and clinical burden is imposed on healthcare systems and nurses, as well as on their patients. One of the reasons nurses fail to adhere to preventive and control measures is that most hospital systems lack a well-defined concept, enough physical resources, and a safety culture policy. In order to narrow this gap, the hospital must build a well-developed design, execute a critical monitoring system, and ensure that all nurses get enough training. Following participation in training programs and washing hands in the local community, surgical wards will be better equipped to clean hands properly and efficiently across the board in all aspects of patient care and treatment, including surgery.
References
Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care. (2017). 2021 Preventing and Controlling Infections Standard.
BMC. (2019). Abstracts from the 5th International Conference on prevention & infection control (ICPIC 2019). Antimicrobial Resistance & Infection Control, 8(S1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s13756-019-0567-6
Haque, M., Sartelli, M., McKimm, J., & Abu Bakar, M. B. (2018). Health care-associated infections – an overview. Infection and Drug Resistance, 11, 2321- 2333. https://doi.org/10.2147/idr.s177247
Healy, J. (2016). Improving health care safety and quality: reluctant regulators. Routledge. Russo, P. L., Cheng, A. C., Richards, M., Graves, N., & Hall, L. (2015). Variation in health care-associated infection surveillance practices in Australia. American journal of infection control, 43(7), 773-775.
Mahfouz, A. A., El Gamal, M. N., & Al-Azraqi, T. A. (2013). Hand hygiene non-compliance among intensive care unit health care workers in Aseer central hospital, south-western Saudi Arabia. International Journal of Infectious Diseases, 17(9), e729- e732. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijid.2013.02.025
Russo, P., Saguil, E., Chakravarthy, M., Lee, K., Ling, M., Morikane, K., Spencer, M., Danker, W., Yu, N., & Edmiston, C. (2021). Improving surgical site infection prevention in Asia-Pacific through appropriate surveillance programs: Challenges and recommendation. Infection, Disease & Health, 26(3), 198- 207. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.idh.2021.03.003
Soesanto, D. (2018). The influence of nurse’s knowledge level on behaviour changes, attitude and 5 moments of hand hygiene compliance. Indian Journal of Public Health Research & Development, 9(11), 1808. https://doi.org/10.5958/0976-5506.2018.01708.4
Tan, C. (2012). Hand hygiene compliance sustenance program among registered and enrolled nurses in a hematology-oncology unit. PACEsetterS, 9(1), 26- 33. https://doi.org/10.1097/01.jbi.0000413337.16946.0a
Volgenant, C. M., Persoon, I. F., Ruijter, R. A., & Soet, J. J. (2020). Infection control in dental health care during and after the SARS?Cov?2 outbreak. Oral Diseases, 27(S3), 674- 683. https://doi.org/10.1111/odi.13408
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