Quality standard
Quality statement 2: Preventing cross-infection during hospital admissions
Quality statement 2: Preventing cross-infection during hospital admissions
Quality statement
People with cystic fibrosis have individual rooms with en‑suite facilities when admitted to hospital as inpatients.
Rationale
People with cystic fibrosis are vulnerable to cross‑infection. Bacteria that are usually harmless to people who don't have cystic fibrosis can be harmful to those who do. Infection can be passed from person to person through coughing and through social contact including play, sharing rooms, equipment, food or drink. The risk of cross‑infection increases when people with cystic fibrosis are in close proximity to one another for long periods of time, such as in hospital wards. Treating people with cystic fibrosis in individual rooms with en‑suite facilities when they are admitted to hospital reduces the risk of cross‑infection.
Quality measures
Structure
a) Evidence of local infection control strategies that cover inpatient settings for people with cystic fibrosis.
Data source: Local data collection, for example infection control policies or admission protocols. NHS England service specifications for cystic fibrosis state that services must have policies and procedures in place to protect patients from the risk of cross‑infection.
b) Evidence of inpatient wards containing individual rooms with en‑suite facilities.
Data source: Local data collection, for example service specifications or ward layout plans. NHS England service specifications for cystic fibrosis states that every person with cystic fibrosis admitted as an inpatient will be in their own room with en‑suite facilities.
Process
Proportion of inpatient admissions for people with cystic fibrosis where admission was to an individual room with en‑suite facilities.
Numerator – the number in the denominator where admission was to an individual room with en‑suite facilities.
Denominator – the number of inpatient admissions for people with cystic fibrosis.
Data source: Local data collection, for example local audit of patient records. NHS England's specialised services quality dashboard for cystic fibrosis reports the percentage of patients admitted who are admitted to a single room or cubicle.
Outcome
a) Incidence of cross‑infection in people with cystic fibrosis admitted as inpatients.
Data source: Local data collection, for example local audit of patient records.
b) Health-related quality of life scores of people with cystic fibrosis.
Data source: Local data collection, for example a survey of people with cystic fibrosis using a cystic fibrosis quality of life questionnaire.
What the quality statement means for different audiences
Service providers (such as cystic fibrosis centres and hospitals) ensure that all cystic fibrosis inpatient wards consist of individual rooms with en‑suite facilities and that there are sufficient rooms to manage planned and emergency admissions. Systems are in place to make sure that people with cystic fibrosis treated outside of the cystic fibrosis ward are allocated to individual rooms with en‑suite facilities.
Healthcare professionals (such as bed managers and members of cystic fibrosis multidisciplinary teams) make sure that admission arrangements for people with cystic fibrosis who need an overnight stay include individual rooms with en‑suite facilities. Members of the cystic fibrosis multidisciplinary team discuss the risk of cross‑infection and the need for separate rooms with the child, young person or adult with cystic fibrosis and their family or carer. They work with bed managers to arrange planned admissions to help prevent people with cystic fibrosis coming into contact with each other, such as when they use diagnostic facilities or communal areas.
Commissioners ensure that service specifications require people with cystic fibrosis to be treated in single rooms with en‑suite facilities when admitted as inpatients. They require providers to have a policy and procedures in place to protect people with cystic fibrosis from the risk of cross‑infection.
People with cystic fibrosis have single rooms with en‑suite facilities when they stay overnight in hospital. This makes it less likely that they will pick up an infection from another person in the ward.
Source guidance
Cystic fibrosis: diagnosis and management. NICE guideline NG78 (2017), recommendation 1.8.7