INVC,,
Delhi,,
Avoid visiting a hospital for a formality. Do not visit health care settings unless necessary. Do not use hospitals as a hotel to stay. Healthcare-associated infections are common. The hospital environment is not safe and can cause infections in the visitors. About 5% of people visiting hospitals may end up with infections, said Padma Shri and Dr B C Roy National Awardee Dr K K Aggarwal President, Heart Care Foundation of India. Healthcare-associated infections are infections that occur in a non-hospitalized patient with extensive healthcare contact. Some people are more at risk and they are those who have had intravenous therapy, wound care, or intravenous chemotherapy within the prior 30 days or have attended a hospital or hemodialysis clinic within the prior 30 days or are resident in a nursing home or other long-term care facility or were admitted in an acute care hospital for two or more days within the preceding 90 days. The US Center for Disease Control (CDC) estimates that healthcare-associated infections account for about 1.7 million infections and 99,000 associated deaths each year in American hospitals. Of these, 32 percent are urinary tract infections, 22 percent are surgical site infections, 15 percent are pneumonias (lung infections) and 14 percent are bloodstream infections. He said that as compared to healthcare-associated infections, hospital-acquired (or nosocomial) infections are infections that occur 48 hours or more after admission and did not appear to be incubating at the time of admission. The risk of acquiring this infection is 5% for a visitor visiting a hospital environment.
Following are some guidelines for preventing hospital-acquired infections:
• Do not visit the hospital environment unless essential.
• Do not use hospital toilets as far as possible.
• Do not sleep in the hospital corridors unless necessary.
• Avoid crowded OPDs in a hospital. If there is no other
alternative, use masks.
• Do not use hospital premises as a hotel.
• Avoid unnecessary stay in the hospital.
• Choose day care procedures as much as possible.
