HealthScapades Episode #4 | IPC: Do You Even Care About Healthcare Workers? | 13.05.2024
By Tayo Fasuan
A few weeks ago, I was in Oyo State in my capacity as the Technical Advisor for Southwest Nigeria on CO-PREP, and as usual, it was another opportunity to share my experience in order to drive home my advice.
Right from my undergraduate days when I first heard of nosocomial infection, also known as hospital-acquired infections (HAIs), and over the years when I had contracted such and gotten over it, I have known that preventing infections among health workers is paramount.
Infection prevention and control is a core part of the COVID-19 Preparedness and Response Project, focusing not only on the coronavirus but also on other important priority infectious diseases capable of causing epidemics and the protection of healthcare workers.
The pillar is important because evidence has shown that healthcare workers are ten times more likely to contract an infection during a disease outbreak than any other group of people due to their direct and deliberate interaction with the patients during these periods. Hence, IPC for preparedness and response plans are focused on healthcare facilities at all levels.
During the interaction at the IPC guideline review, I advised the IPC focal persons from all 33 LGAs in Oyo State and other IPC focal persons from the state Ministry of Health to focus on developing guidelines suited and practicable to their environment. It’s easy to import and adopt IPC practices from many places, but difficult to adapt to the present realities of local communities.
They were also advised to give special attention to their primary healthcare facilities, which have been shown generally in the country to have little to no concrete IPC guidelines or practices in place. Most secondary and tertiary healthcare facilities are known to have incorporated some guidelines and practices due to their existing standards.
Conclusively, as IPC is gradually being recognised as an institutionalised practice across the world, healthcare workers who wish to be IPC professionals are encouraged to get training and certifications to improve and boost their knowledge and career growth.