Newly released findings indicate a significant decrease in the standards of Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) in UK facilities since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic. Addressing this worsening situation should be a priority for healthcare institutions, to shield both staff and patients from potential health risks, including potential contraction of Covid-19. Promoting the vaccination of healthcare personnel against Covid-19 and common influenza was one of the report’s key recommendations.
The Royal College of Emergency Medicine conducted a three-year-long quality improvement program, collecting data from over 65,000 patients across 127 emergency departments. The investigation focused on the level of screening across three major categories, including Covid-19, vulnerable conditions like pregnancy, being unvaccinated, having an impaired immune system, as well as patients presenting symptoms like unexplained rash and fever or gastrointestinal disturbances.
The results of the study presented a worrying trend, showing a decrease in the national average of patients screened on attending A&E – from 25 per cent in 2022 to 17 per cent last year. Dr Adrian Boyle, the president of the Royal College of Emergency Medicine, iterated that the provision of standard care to patients and the safety of staff, especially in the wake of the pandemic, should be a norm.
The report’s findings showed that a stunning 35 out of the surveyed 127 emergency departments, failed to record any patient being screened for all three aforementioned conditions. There has been a ‘rise’ in patients diagnosed with Covid-19 in emergency departments concurrent with a decrease in the number of healthcare staff receiving the virus and flu vaccines.
On the brighter side, although the national average of potentially infective patients being appropriately relocated decreased from 80 to 62 per cent, they were relocated within an average of 135 minutes. This reveals a discouraging rise from 83 minutes of the previous year and 46 minutes of the year 2020-2021.
Dr Boyle clarified that the report’s findings paint a picture of steadily declining performance across all Quality Improvement Program’s (QIP) standards over the course of three years. This situation underlines the pressing need for trusts and hospitals to once again highlight IPC as a priority, similar to the early days of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The report highlighted a series of recommendations, including encouraging medical staff to screen patients and document results and receive vaccinations. The IPC teams are advised to collaborate closely with emergency departments to enhance the safety of patients. The leader of the research program, Dr Fiona Burton, emphasized that although the declining standards are concerning, the unusual context of the pandemic and the pressure on emergency departments are critical factors to be considered.
As the healthcare system braces for the influx of winter pressures and industrial action by junior doctors, the National Health Service (NHS) in England anticipates significant challenges. The past week recorded an average of 2,208 flu patients daily in hospital, indicating a 68 per cent surge from the beginning of January. Meanwhile, Covid-19 patient numbers saw a decrease, standing at an average of 2,720 daily, as compared to 3,229 of the previous week.
NHS representatives stated that efforts towards curtailing the risks presented by Covid-19 and other infections are in action, with robust prevention and control methods in place. They added that a range of relieving strategies seeking to reduce undue pressure and crowding in A&E departments have been outlined in the NHS urgent and emergency care recovery plan.