| Issue 1: Infection prevention and control intervention |
Lack of understanding of IC issues and low priority given to interventions from hospital administrators. Difficulties in designing interventions and analysing and summarising the results. Lack of resources and personnel. Absence of a link between surveillance and intervention. |
Implement training to obtain skills in performing interventions. Include IC issues in national laws and regulations to obligate hospital administrations to actively support interventions. Position IC teams adequately within the hospital hierarchy. Make IC and patient safety a priority in hospitals. Apply existing data to argue for resources. |
Organise training courses in intervention techniques. Provide practical guidance on intervention strategies. Promote platforms for exchange of experience and knowledge at national and international level. Make information about successful strategies easily accessible to all. Promote expert consensus on this issue. Stimulate IC prioritisation in regulations, hospital accreditation, and national policies. Make WHOnet an important tool to support interventions at national and hospital level. Promote patient safety as a priority in health care. |
| Issue 2: Outbreak investigation |
Difficulties in recognising outbreaks. Lack of coordination between microbiological (typing) and epidemiological analysis. Lack of communication between laboratory and clinical team. Lack of collaboration between surveillance systems and hospital-based IC teams. Punitive attitude shown for outbreak investigations. Lack of tools, know-how, resources. Unpreparedness to crisis management and interaction with media. |
Organise training courses at regional level. Establish a straightforward communication between laboratory and clinical investigators. Establish a straightforward communication between surveillance systems and hospital-based IC teams. Establish a national network as platform for timely communication about ongoing outbreaks. |
Organise training courses in outbreak investigation. Establish rules for communication between laboratory and IC clinical team in regulations. Foster early warning systems and a communication platform to alert for emerging and multiresistant pathogens. Prepare practical guidelines to react to outbreaks with emerging pathogens. Establish a 24 h hotline for rapid access to information and knowledge on pathogens involved in outbreaks. Offer training in media appearance. |
