Infection control in Bremen hospitals

Infection control in Bremen hospitals

07/03/2014

In 2011, three preemies died from an infection with multidrug-resistant germs in the Bremen-Mitte hospital. The topic of hygiene and infection control is therefore the focus of the new hospital mirror presented yesterday in Bremen. Accordingly, the situation in the clinics has improved significantly. „All hospitals in Bremen and Bremerhaven are inspected by the health authorities at least every two years. This is an immediate response to the 2011 hygiene incidents“, Health Senator Hermann Schulte-Sasse.

Bremen hospitals are in the infection control above the national average
At the presentation of the current hospital mirror, the managing director of the Bremen Hospital Association (HBKG), Uwe Zimmer, pointed out that the Bremen hospitals are well above the national average for the prevention of infections and the frequency of wound infections. For example, selective admission screening for MRSA germs would be carried out in patients of certain risk groups, such as nursing home residents or persons who have been treated in a foreign hospital within the last 12 months. „The hospitals in Bremen and Bremerhaven go beyond the requirements of the Commission for Hospital Hygiene and Infection Prevention (KRINKO). In 2012, every fourth hospital patient was tested; At 58,000 smears, a total of 2,500 MRSA germ carriers were discovered. The costs are borne by the hospitals themselves“, so room. Nevertheless, this screening should be further improved, stressed Schulte-Sasse.

Special protective measures for MRSA infections
The focal topic of hygiene at the current hospital mirror in Bremen provides comprehensive information on measures taken to combat infection and their quality. Thus, special protection measures for hospital staff and visitors apply to patients with MRSA infection. „These patients are usually hospitalized separately from other patients in the hospital. Doctors, nurses and visitors must wear protective gowns, possibly mouth and nose protection and disposable gloves. The direct environment and utensils of these patients are disinfected very frequently, care utensils safely disposed of after use and linen, towels and all clothing changed daily and washed“, explains Martin Eikenberg, Director of the Institute for General Hygiene, Hospital and Environmental Hygiene at the Klinikum Bremen-Mitte.

Therefore, by the end of 2016, each hospital will have to employ a number of hygiene professionals and hygiene officers, depending on their size. For this reason, a training and advanced training for hygienic specialists has been set up in the Bremen-Mitte Hospital. „In Bremerhaven and Bremerhaven hospitals, there are usually already such hygiene-related doctors in every specialist department; Most senior physicians were selected for this because they are authorized to give instructions and are continuously present in their department“, reports Eikenberg. Zimmer also points out that the Bremerhaven and Bremerhaven clinics „in many areas have reached the required number of hygiene experts before the deadline.“

According to the German Society for Hospital Hygiene, around 900,000 hospital infections and at least 30,000 deaths occur in Germany each year. About one third could be avoided. (Ag)