Infection Prevention and Control

Introduction: Healthcare Associated Infection (HCAI) is a major cause of morbidity and mortality. HCAI remains a costly burden to health services, a source of concern to patients and the public and at present, is receiving priority from policy makers as it contributes to the global threat of antimicrobial resistance. This presentation introduces a new study that explores the ways in which adherence to IPC strategies and principles inform and shape organisational patient safety culture and vice versa.

Methods: The study involves qualitative case studies within isolation settings at two district general hospitals within one health board in Wales, UK. The study incorporates Manchester Patient Safety Framework (MaPSaF) workshops, interviews with health workers, other hospital staff, patients and their relative / carer, and periods of hospital ward observation.

Results: This presentation offers analysis drawn from the Phase 1 MaPSaF workshops. MaPSaF is designed specifically for use in the NHS and provides a view of safety culture on 10 dimensions at 5 progressive levels of safety maturity. The utilisation of MaPSaF in this study has enabled the generation of a profile of maturity of patient safety culture within each hospital setting in terms of areas of relative strength and challenge.

Discussion: Understanding the ways in which IPC is presented, implemented and engaged with by health workers and what that means for organisational patient safety culture, is essential to driving improvements in healthcare and clinical practice. This study offers an understanding of the meaning of IPC ‘ownership’ for health workers; of the ways in which IPC is promoted,

of how IPC teams operate as new challenges arise, how their effectiveness is assessed and of the positioning of IPC within the broader context of organisational patient safety culture, within hospital isolation settings.