Kasse calls for stricter hygiene regulations

Techniker Krankenkasse demands stricter hygiene regulations

09/04/2015

Again and again it comes in Germany to serious hospital infections. Only a few days ago it had become known that on a pediatric intensive care unit in Dusseldorf against certain antibiotics resistant intestinal germs were discovered. Now the Techniker Krankenkasse (TK) demands a further development and standardization of the hygiene regulations of Berlin and Brandenburg in order to be able to effectively reduce the number of infections.

Federal Ministry of Health estimates 400,000 to 600,000 cases per year
The theme has been around for years „hospital hygiene“ heatedly discussed. Only at the beginning of the week had it become known that a dangerous intestinal germ had been detected in 13 preterm infants at the pediatric intensive care unit of the "Florence Nightingale" hospital in Düsseldorf-Kaiserswerth. Just one example among many, as reported by the Techniker Krankenkasse (TK), the Federal Ministry of Health (BMG) assumes that 400,000 to 600,000 people are diagnosed with hospital infections each year. Up to 15,000 people would even die from it, so the information of the box office on, but these are only estimated values. Accordingly, according to the TK, there would be no precise information about the actual number of infections.

Regional differences in dealing with patients incomprehensible
According to the TK, in order to be able to effectively reduce the number of infections, it would be necessary to tighten up the hygiene regulations of Berlin and Brandenburg. „Berlin has to do more with hospital hygiene“, said the Berlin TK boss Susanne Hertzer to the „Tagesspiegel“. Because it is „incomprehensible“, Hertzer goes on to say that different standards of patient protection are applied in the common health region with Brandenburg. Because as the TK informed, risk patients in Brandenburg „In hospitals, outpatient surgery facilities, screening and rehabilitation facilities, dialysis facilities, day clinics and medical practices are identified and protected in a timely manner.“ In Berlin, on the other hand, these protective measures would only be implemented in hospitals as well as preventive and rehabilitation facilities; moreover, in both regulations the area of ​​nursing homes would be completely ruled out.

Germs do not stop at the hospital door
But „Germs do not stop at hospital doors“, Hertzer continues. Therefore, to effectively reduce the number of infections, all healthcare facilities would need to be integrated to allow for better tracking of the transmission pathways. Although the occurrence of pathogens with resistance and multidrug resistance must be reported, but in the capital, the districts would forward the data anonymously to the State Office for Health and Social Affairs. Accordingly, the patients could not get an overview of which clinics are specifically affected. Here could possibly unannounced controls the health authorities in clinics remedy, so Klaus-Dieter Zastrow of the professional association German hygienists to the newspaper.

TK wants to win more participants for "Action Clean Hands"
According to the TK, more clinics in the region should also participate in the "Clean Hands" campaign, which would require the participating houses to comply with certain minimum standards. „Hygienic hand disinfection is an effective way to prevent infections in the clinics“, so the cash register. The campaign was already started in 2008 with the support of the BMG as a national campaign, but so far only every second clinic would participate in the program.

The federal government issues new infection protection regulations as early as 2011
In 2011, the federal government demanded new infection protection regulations from the federal states, and health senator Mario Czaja (CDU) issued a stricter regulation a year later. This was accompanied by personnel changes in the clinics, because these had previously set only from 450 beds a hygienist, was now a limit of 400 beds. They were aware that the efforts would have to be continued, according to a spokeswoman for the senator „Tagesspiegel“. However, the legal basis in the countries currently provides only hygiene regulations for the medical sector, but not for nursing homes. This would also affect the requirements of the federal government for hygiene in clinics and outpatient surgical centers, adds a spokeswoman for the Brandenburg Minister of Health Diana Golze (left).