Do your part in preventing HCAI in patients, nurses urged
PUTRAJAYA: Nurses are urged to play a serious role in preventing Healthcare Associated Infections (HCAI) in patients under their care.
Deputy Health Minister Dr Lee Boon Chye said infection prevention and control was an important component in nursing care.
“Nurses play an important role in the prevention of HCAI by ensuring that all aspects of nursing profession are carried out.
“I urge every member of the healthcare, including nurses, to show leadership in preventing and controlling infections with their knowledge,” he said in a speech read by Health deputy director-general Datuk Dr Azman Abu Bakar at the First National Nursing Infection Control Conference, themed “War Against Sepsis: The Fight We Cannot Afford To Lose”, here yesterday.
Dr Lee said he hoped that nurses’ knowledge would reduce the occurrence of HCAI and sepsis, and increase patients’ care, safety and quality.
He said HCAI was one of the contributing factors to sepsis among high-risk patients, such as the elderly, pregnant women, babies and immuno-suppressive patients, like those who have AIDS, HIV and cancer.
Sepsis is the body’s overwhelming and life-threatening response to infection.
“Anti-Microbial Resistance has been identified to be the biggest factor contributing to ineffective treatment of patients. If it (sepsis) is not detected and treated in the early stages, it can lead to septic shock, organ failure and death.
“Sepsis is a serious infection, especially in low- and middle-income nations where it is a contributing factor to the mortality and morbidity of mothers and children.”
He said HCAI resulted in prolonged hospital stays, increased morbidity and mortality, as well as increased cost of treatment.
He said it was closely related to the occurrence of antibiotic resistance, which led to difficulty in treating infections.
It has been reported that sepsis affected some 30 million people around the world and caused deaths in six million people.
However, the ministry’s national data last year shows a lower figure of only two patients for every 100 hospitals.