Honesty on HAIs is the best policy

National surveillance schemes for healthcare acquired infections are a must if improvements in infection control are to be made. (Getty Images)

Infection control is a worrisome subject, there's no denying that, for at its worst it can seriously endanger patient's lives, staff morale and a hospital's reputation.

The bottom line is that poor infection control results in sicker patients, infected with life threatening healthcare acquired infections (HAIs), such as methicillin-resistant Staphlococcus aureus (MRSA), which is easily prevented but incredibly difficult to treat.

There's no stopping HAIs like MRSA, they are a symptom of modern healthcare, bought about by the overuse of antibiotics and the increasing ability of medicine to keep seriously ill people alive.

And whatever healthcare providers say, no facility is immune from HAIs. It is true some will have lower rates than others - for a multitude of reasons. Some may have better hand hygiene policies, while others are burdened with old fashioned air conditioning units that spread bacteria around.

The point is not who is better than who, but what the actual size of the problem is. At present nobody knows, because no national surveillance schemes for HAIs exist. Leaving little, but a bit of imagination, to determine how many patients are at risk.

Open, honest and universal data collection is urgently needed. True, individual healthcare providers may have excellent handles on their own rates of infection. But that information could be put to even greater use if it was shared at a national and regional level.

Such a move would allow governments, health authorities and hospitals to get a better idea of the areas in need of assistance, as well as highlighting areas of excellence that can be used as models for best practice.

Thankfully, the GCC health ministers have recognised the importance of such national surveillance programmes and are even looking at a Gulf-wide HAI data collection scheme.

They are committed to improving the situation and in a welcome move will be sending out guidance on infection control policies and surveillance techniques across all seven member countries, later this year.

However, it will, as always, be left to frontline staff and healthcare managers to see this through. Commitment needs to come in the form of funding, training and above all trust - so infection control departments are fully equipped and confident to carry out this most important of jobs.

Joanna Hartley is the editor of Medical Times Middle East.

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