Curb cases in health workers: State asks to activate hosp infection control panel

MP | 18 Jan 2022 | Kolkata: To check the health workers from getting infected with Covid, the state health department has directed all the hospitals to strengthen institutional mechanisms and to activate Hospital Infection Control Committee (HICC) which will be responsible for implementing infection Prevention and Control (IPC) activities within the hospitals. 

The main objective of the move is to check the infection among the health professionals both in Covid and non-Covid hospitals in the state. 

"The health care personnel working in hospitals are at increased risk of acquiring Covid infection, if there is a breach in the personal protection while managing patients. 

It is important to ensure proper advisory to protect health care workers particularly in the context of safety from Healthcare Associated Infections (HAI) while managing Covid," said the directives. 

It also said that a nodal officer (infection control officer) shall be identified by all the health facilities to address all aspects relating to HAI. 

The nodal officer will have to ensure that health workers in different settings of hospitals use PPEs and follow other parameters appropriate as per the risk factors. 

Any breach in PPE and exposure should be immediately informed to the nodal officer. Immuno-compromised health care workers should inform their medical condition to the hospital authorities so that they can be posted at the appropriate areas. 

A standard operating procedure must be followed by all the health care workers. Health department officials will monitor the situation from time to time. 

It may be mentioned here that during the previous Covid wave in the last year, the state health department formed an infection control committee in all the medical college hospitals with an objective to keep the maternity and labour rooms of the hospitals infection free as they were most vulnerable during the previous wave. 

A three layered mechanism was put in place. An infection control team was also made ready that time. 

All the medical college hospitals constituted infection control teams. They worked on an emergency basis to keep the labour rooms free from infections. 

http://www.millenniumpost.in/kolkata/curb-cases-in-health-workers-state-asks-to-activate-hosp-infection-control-panel-465400