Hospital infection control best practice: Five essential elements to successfully minimize healthcare-associated COVID-19

Abstract

Outbreaks of the 2019-Coronavarius Disease (COVID-19) have emerged as a Public Health Emergency of International Concern since January 2020, affecting millions of people globally. With the ever-evolving pandemic and shortage of personal protective equipment (PPE), the role played by the hospital Infection Control Team (ICT) in promulgating five essential best practice infection control measures can effectively help to combat the pandemic. The following describes the experience of Queen Elizabeth Hospital, an acute tertiary hospital in Hong Kong. As of 10 July 2020, there were 1,403 confirmed COVID-19 cases in Hong Kong. 147 confirmed and 412 suspected cases were received and managed in Queen Elizabeth Hospital, an acute tertiary hospital in Hong Kong. During the battle against COVID-19, no cases of healthcare associated COVID-19 were identified and no healthcare workers acquired the disease from the hospital despite the high risk of contacting COVID patients in the hospital setting. The specific role and multipronged approach taken by the ICT in response to the pandemic has proven successful in the contribution of mitigating COVID-19 spread in the hospital. FIVE key elements include: (1) Communication, (2) early case detection, (3) prudent patient placement, (4) staff safety and (5) education on outbreak prevention and management strategies were applied in preparing the readiness of the hospital to handle the new emerging disease [1]. Clear communication during a crisis is imperative to attaining an effective response [2]. Owing to the constantly evolving nature of the disease understanding and the constraints in the supplies of PPE, modifications of infection control strategies were frequently deliberated and shared to hospital staff in response to the situation on hand through various meetings and staff forums. Clear and transparent dissemination of the latest pandemic updates and control measures were disseminated to all frontline staff via different communication channels including emails, newsletters and bulletins. The ICT also provided a 24/7 enquiry hotline to address staff’s enquiries on ad-hoc infection control issues.