STOP PRESS!!

The word on the street is all about reducing Hospital Acquired Infections. Anyone who has attended a hospital induction this month will have been bombarded by both the corporate, clinical, and departmental teams regarding the importance of limiting infections. Never before in my career have I witnessed such emphasis on one particular area. Heck, I even had to attend mandatory training on taking blood cultures and inserting cannulae (and have the certificate to prove it - so proud!).

Why is this huge? Apart from the obvious continual negative media attention reveived with daily uproar (and obviously the detrimental effect on patients - how could I forget to mention this?!), this is big bucks for the hospitals. There will be financial penalties for those Trusts failing to comply and suffering high HAI rates.

How does it affect us? Well, apart from changing our clinical practice, it may save us £690. Why? Because (Yes, I know I've started a sentence with 'because'; pedants!) of it's extreme topical nature, it could be a Short Answer Question, or even appear in the Structured Oral section of the exam. I refer you to Exam Intelligence who has already alerted readers of his blog as to the potential of this line of questioning. He outlines what the Royal College have said - we need to be aware of topical issues, and none is hotter than this at the moment. More information can be found on the Clean, Safe Care NHS website.

This is emphasised this month, as if by magic, by our beloved Association of Anaesthetists in the publication of updated guidelines on Infection Control in Anaesthesia (September 2008 edition of Anaesthesia p.1027). This is a must-read as it is concise, topical, and most importantly, relevant to anaesthesia.