Background
Little research has been completed to assess the numbers of infection prevention and
control personnel employed or optimal size and composition of infection control teams.
Methods
Acute national health hospital organizations in England were requested to provide
information about the numbers of infection prevention and control personnel employed
and weekly hours contributed by each occupational group under the United Kingdom’s
Freedom of Information legislation. The relationship between capacity of the infection
prevention and control workforce, size of the inpatient population, and routinely
collected surveillance data for health care–associated infection were explored.
Results
There were 137 (85%) National Health Service (NHS) hospital organizations that responded.
The number of infection prevention and control nurses ranged from 1-16 per organization.
A total of 46 (33.6%) reported that they received no clinical microbiology sessions,
and for 11 (8%) input was inadequate. An antibiotic pharmacist was reported to be
employed in 107 (78.1%) organizations. Few infection prevention and control teams
reported receiving the following: 1. managerial support, 2. being represented on committees
where decisions about resource allocation were made, or 3. assistance with administration.
Conclusion
Despite the priority that infection prevention and control have received in the United
Kingdom over the last 10 years, many infection prevention and control teams appear
underresourced.
Key Words
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: September 18, 2014
Footnotes
Conflicts of interest: No conflicts of interest are declared.
Funding: Funding to support this study was provided by a research development grant from the National Institute for Social and Health Research in Wales.
Identification
Copyright
© 2014 Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology, Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
