Infection control

At The Lister Hospital, minimising the risk of hospital-acquired infections for each patient, including MRSA, is a priority. This is achieved through continuous vigilance, robust infection surveillance systems and ongoing training of staff at all levels in hospital hygiene. Our entire care infection control procedures are supervised and reinforced by our experienced and dedicated Infection Control Nurses and Consultant Medical advisers.

All patients admitted to The Lister Hospital, including day cases, are screened for MRSA. If the patient is carrying MRSA, their procedure may be deferred or otherwise they will be nursed in strict isolation ("barrier nursing") to reduce the possibility of transmission to healthcare staff or other patients.

The risk of MRSA transmission is reduced by the use of single patient rooms.

This commitment to the highest quality standard has successfully kept the incidence of MRSA infection at very low levels. Almost all of our occurrences of MRSA are imported and contained. Secondary spread is very unusual. The HCA Quality Report highlights that a patient is six times less likely to contract MRSA in an HCA hospital.

Other factors that contribute to our high quality record include:

• Individual rooms with private en suite facilities for almost all patients before and after any treatment or operation, unless the specialist resources of high dependency or intensive care are necessary.
• High nurse to patient ratios, increasing the time available for individual attention and ensuring the highest quality of care and hygiene.
• On-site cleaning staff who work to high specifications of hygiene and cleanliness, available 24 hours every day to respond to any need that may arise.
• A rapid and comprehensive room cleaning regime between the discharge of one patient and the admission of the next.

View our Infection Control leaflets