Infection control policy and procedures of “facility x”
By Sharyn Royal #201006683

In this report I will discuss the policy and procedures at a nursing home. I will be specifically looking at infection control during the course of a medication round.
The information contained in this report was gathered in a private nursing home over 2 weeks that for the sake of this essay, be called “facility x”
During the medication round there is much time for resident contact, this can be in the form of physical reassurance, assisting with cups, or direct physical contact when applying lotions or eye drops. Any infectious agent transmitted by the contact or droplet route can potentially be transmitted during the medication round. Hand hygiene is widely acknowledged to be the single most important activity for reducing the spread of infection.
Facility X states in its “policy and procedures” that it follows the concept of the ‘5 moments for hand hygiene’ developed by the World Health Organization.
This includes washing hands:
1 Before touching a patient,
2 Before a procedure,
3 After a procedure,
4 After touching a patient,
5 After touching patient’s surroundings/belongings
These 5 times are mostly adhered to in facility x, except for step 5, washing hands after touching a patients surroundings. This was often overlooked, possibly because of the lack of association between the items in the room and part laziness.
At facility x, the use of suitable alcohol based hand rub before each patient contact is encouraged, and is in plentiful supply on the medication trolley and with the washbasins. Alcohol based hand rubs require less time to perform hand hygiene than regular hand washing procedures with a liquid soap and water. Pump bottles are more easily accessible than basins. Alcohol-based hand rubs are less likely to cause irritation to the skin when used