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Using SSI surveillance to drive improvement

Surgical site infection surveillance saves lives, but theatre staff need to take a more proactive role, says Pauline Harrington, National surgical site infection surveillance manager at Public Health England. Louise Frampton reports.

Speaking at Salford Professional Development’s Operating Theatres Conference, Pauline Harrington, National surgical site infection (SSI) surveillance manager, Public Health England, asked delegates if they were aware of National SSI surveillance. Despite this being mandated for the NHS since 1997, only a handful of delegates were aware of this activity being undertaken at their Trusts. As this is a key performance indicator for hospital theatres, it appears there is still more work to be done in communicating SSI rates back to the perioperative teams who ultimately impact these outcomes. Last year (2018/19) seven high outlier notifications were sent out for mandatory surveillance categories (four for knee replacement, two for hip replacement and one for repair of neck of femur). Perioperative teams at these outlying Trusts would have become acutely aware of the National surveillance scheme. 

“Patients die from SSI and we know it is avoidable,” commented Pauline. “A key factor in prevention is surveillance. By looking for SSI, you can identify the problem and address it… The purpose is to improve patient care.”

Benchmarking

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Upcoming Events

Central Sterilising Club - Annual Scientific Meeting 2024

Crowne Plaza at Gerrard’s Cross
15th April 2024 – 16th April 2024

DECON UK 2024

National Conference Centre, Birmingham
17th April 2024

Infection Prevention & Control

National Conference Centre, Birmingham
23rd - 24th April 2024

Theatres & Decontamination Conference 2024

Coventry Building Society Arena
16th May 2024

The AfPP Roadshow - Birmingham

Millennium Point, Birmingham
18th May 2024

The AfPP Roadshow - Exeter

University of Exeter
22nd June 2024

Access the latest issue of Clinical Services Journal on your mobile device together with an archive of back issues.

Download the FREE Clinical Services Journal app from your device's App store

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