The prevention and control of infection is our highest priority. Keeping our numbers of MRSA and C.difficile cases down is vital to the quality of care that our patients receive and their confidence in us.
We have an Infection Control Team who can give advice on infections and how to prevent them but it is the responsibility of everyone – staff, patients and visitors – to ensure that infection prevention practices are followed very carefully.
Patients and visitors: how you can help
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Clean your hands Please use the alcohol hand gel when you enter and leave a ward. Wash your hands in warm soapy water after using the toilet (and please avoid using patient toilets if you are a visitor – ask ward staff where the nearest public toilet is).
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Reduce clutter Please keep patient belongings in the lockers provided and make sure that items such as suitcases are taken home. Keeping wards free from clutter makes it easier to clean.
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Avoid flowers as gifts We understand that you may want to bring a gift for the person you are visiting. We ask that you avoid bringing flowers and pot plants onto the ward as these items make it harder to clean.
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Don’t visit if you are unwell Please make sure you are free of symptoms for at least two days before you visit someone in hospital, especially if your symptoms include vomiting, diarrhoea, temperature, cold and/or cough.
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Visit between 3.00-5.00pm and 7.00-8.30pm on adult wards (except maternity). These standardised visiting times give hospital staff the time and space needed to carry out infection-control measures during the remainder of the day and evening. (In special circumstances permission to visit outside of these times can be given.)
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Only have two visitors per patient at any one time The more people that come onto a ward the greater the risk of infection to patients.
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Ask staff if they have washed their hands All hospital staff should wash their hands before and after touching a patient. Feel free to ask your doctor or nurse if they have done this.
Facts and figures
Brighton and Sussex Hospitals NHS Trust participates in the Department of Health’s mandatory surveillance scheme. This means that the numbers of patients developing infection due to MRSA in the blood and the number of patients aquiring C.difficile associated diarrhoea are reported regularly and the Department of Health publishes these figures.
Click here for our latest C.difficile figures
Click here for our latest MRSA figures
If you have any questions about your risk of developing an infection then please ask the health care staff looking after you.
Research to help 'beat the bugs'
Infections can be dangerous: we are trying to find out more about them to control and manage them better and ultimately to improve people's experiences in hospital.
Brighton and Sussex Hospitals Trust is one of three hospitals working with the Modernising Medical Microbiology consortium to study how better identification of germs can improve infection control. More information about the study can be found on www.modmedmicro.ac.uk/ethics
Contact us
If you require further information or have any questions about the risk of infection in hospital, please contact infection.control@bsuh.nhs.uk
