RAWALPINDI: The Rawalpindi Medical University (RMU) has started work to control infections in the three government hospitals by managing the hospital acquired infections (HAIs).

RMU Vice Chancellor Prof Dr Mohammad Umar on Friday tasked chief microbiologist Prof Dr Naeem Akhtar and a team of experts with controlling, preventing and offering efficient management for the HAIs at the Holy Family Hospital, Benazir Bhutto Hospital and the District Headquarter (DHQ) Hospital.

The programme consists of surveillance and inspection activities. To ensure a proper working, teams of experts in each of the hospitals have been constituted on internationally recommended models with further improvisation for suiting the special needs of the institutions.

Teams to inspect all areas in hospitals, make recommendations for infection control

The teams are responsible for not only conducting inspections and testing of all areas of patient care but also offering recommendations that may ensure better patient care and infection control.

It has also been made mandatory for doctors and paramedical staff working in the allied hospitals to undergo HAI control training workshops that are being conducted at the hospitals.

The teams of experts are also responsible for conducting awareness sessions for the patients and their attendants about basic practices that can save them from the HAIs.

The RMU vice chancellor said HAIs were infections that a patient acquired during his stay in a hospital.

“These have remained a menace in hospitals around the world even in the developed countries adding a huge burden to their struggling economy and society due to the prolonged hospital stays, mortalities and disabilities,” he said.

To ensure that the HAI control programme functioned smoothly and efficiently, the RMU is taking an interest in directly supervising and supporting the working of all the teams.

The overall state of affairs in the allied hospitals has already started looking much better, he added.

Published in Dawn, July 29th, 2017