Miss Ellen Burke1
1Ths, Hobart, Aus
Patient bathing is an integral part of caring for the critically ill and a task that is performed on a daily basis within the Intensive Care Unit. Evidence based practice widely published suggests that the basins used for bathing our patients harbour multi-drug resistant organisms, so a task that we believe is benefiting the patient is actually exposing them to a hospital acquired infection. Furthermore, literature indicates that daily bathing with Chlorhexidine impregnated washcloths and the elimination of wash basins can reduce the colonisation of Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus and Vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus in the Intensive Care environment.
With the increasing rates of hospital acquired infections, despite great hand hygiene results and other infection prevention implementations, as a unit we knew that something needed to be done. So we went back to the basics. A common nursing task, that is performed on a daily basis-bathing. The Department of Critical Care Medicine undertook a quality improvement project, implementing basin-less bathing and daily chlorhexidine washes, in an attempt to reduce the incidents of hospital acquired infections that were acquired in the unit with significant results.
Biography:
I am a registered nurse with 10 years’ experience, completing my Graduate certificate and Graduate Diploma in Critical Care, currently working towards my Masters. I hold the position of the equipment nurse, which is job-shared within the Department of Critical Care Medicine and have done for the past 2 years, as well as holding a grade 4 portfolio and working part time clinically. Having dual positions in the department allows me to have insight in to the system of both management and front line patient care. I have a passion for developing practice and improving practice that coincides with the current evidence-based practice as well as focusing on patient centred care.