The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has issued standards to help prevent and treat surgical site infection in adults, children and young people undergoing surgical incisions through the skin. The NICE quality standard is based on the NICE guidance on both surgical site infection and healthcare- associated infections.
In summary, the standard states:
• People having surgery should not remove hair from the surgical site, because it may increase the risk of infection. If hair needs to be removed, this should be done by healthcare staff using electric clippers with a single-use head on the day of surgery. People having surgery are also advised to have (or are helped to have) a shower, bath or bed bath the day before or on the day of surgery to reduce the number of microorganisms on the skin surrounding the incision.
• Appropriate wound and dressing care promotes healing and reduces the risk of infection. People having surgery and their carers should receive information and advice on wound and dressing care, including how to recognise problems with the wound and who to contact if they are concerned.
• People having surgery should be cared for by healthcare providers that monitor surgical site infection rates (including post-discharge infections), and provide feedback to relevant staff and stakeholders to enable continuous improvement through interventions and adjustment of clinical practice.
Professor Gillian Leng, deputy chief executive and director of health and social care at NICE said: "Serious surgical site infections can lead to life-threatening illnesses, long-term disabilities, and longer stays in hospital as well as resulting in increased costs for the NHS. However, such infections can often be prevented by following simple steps before, during and after surgery. These standards will aid all healthcare professionals involved in the treatment of adults, children and young people in this area, so that they can deliver the very best levels of care across the NHS."
Dr Peter Jenks, director of infection prevention and control/consultant microbiologist, Plymouth Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and chair of the topic expert group, which developed the quality standard, said: "As well as resulting in substantial discomfort and harm to patients who have undergone operations, surgical site infections contribute to the burden on healthcare service providers by prolonging hospital stay and increasing costs. With the clinical imperative of eliminating all preventable healthcare-associated infections, these quality standards will assist providers, commissioners and patients in improving outcomes following surgical procedures."
The NICE quality standard for surgical site infection is available on the NICE website: www.nice.org.uk
