Hospital acquired infections and medical negligence claims
Being treated in a hospital is far from a relaxing holiday. For most people it is associated with a serious health concern and anxiety about getting better as soon as possible.
Unfortunately, it happens on occasion that when patients are admitted to a hospital in order to get better, they end up worse off. A large cause of continued complications is due to infections contracted from the hospital environment. With the increase in strains of antibiotic-resistant bacteria, hospital-acquired infections are even more worrisome.
Medical negligence and personal injury claims
It is not always simple to determine where an infectious agent came from. To hold a hospital of facility liable, the first requirement would be to show that the infection was acquired at the facility and due to negligence.
Further down the article we’ll discuss commonly found infection and what responsibilities health care facilities have to prevent and treat infections.
Bacteria or fungi can often come from homes or even from patients’ own bodies or personal items. The fact that a person has acquired a hospital infection does not mean that there was automatically negligence on the side of the hospital or practitioners. Proving the origin of an infection is a significant hurdle in medical negligence claims.
Apart from preventing an infection before it starts, the second step would include timeous diagnosis and appropriate treatment once the infection is present. This is why patient monitoring is so important. Determining the type of infection, via blood and urine tests as well as the appropriate medication and treatment is just as important. Often if an infection is dealt with timeously and effectively there should be no lasting complications for the patient. In the unfortunate situations where an infection is not dealt with appropriately and this has resulted in harm to a patient, that patient may claim compensation and institute a personal injury claim.
If you suspect that an infection was caused by poor medical care or that it was not treated as it should have been, feel free to contact us at Paul du Plessis Attorneys at 012 809 1588 or pual@pauldup.co.za.
If you want to read more about medical negligence you can visit our website at https://pauldup.co.za/medical-negligence/
What is hospital acquired infection?
Hospital acquired infections or Healthcare-associated infections (HAI) are caused by bacteria, viruses and fungi. Most of these diseases can be contracted anywhere, but they present greater challenges in the healthcare setting. The majority of HAI are caused by bacteria already present in the patient’s body prior to the infection, and may lead to cross-transmission between patients or between patients and healthcare professionals. The environment in a healthcare facility can also be a source of infection, with microorganisms that are spread through air, water or surfaces. Patients in healthcare facilities are more vulnerable than the general population due to already underlying illness, greater fragility (such as for premature babies, the elderly, and immunocompromised patients), and exposure to invasive medical procedures.
HAIs include all types of infections including urinary-tract infections, surgical site infections, respiratory infections, gastro-intestinal infections and bloodstream infections. The emergence of antimicrobial resistant organisms is contributing to an increase in the spread and severity of HAI. A healthcare institution experiencing an outbreak of HAI faces serious patient-care challenges, cost burden, and potential for negative effect on image and reputation.
Common causes of hospital infections
In recent years common causes have been identified. These bacteria or viruses are often harder to treat since traditional antibiotics are not as effective as they once were.
- Staphylococcus aureus
- Methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA)
- Enterococci
- Escherichia coli
- Klebsiella pneumoniae
- Carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE)
- Clostridium difficile
- Extended spectrum β-lactamase-producing Enterobacteriaceae (ESBLs)
- Pseudomonas aeruginosa
- Acinetobacter baumannii
- Vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus
- Streptococci
- Candida albicans
Preventative measures
In many high-income countries, national and regional health authorities, along with individual healthcare institutions, have put into place prevention, control, surveillance and reporting measures. Although there is greater awareness and a significant reduction of the spread of infection causing bacteria in hospitals in the recent years, incidence of HAI remains high, particularly among at-risk populations.
It is critical to regularly carefully monitor all patients in a healthcare facility for infectious diseases, especially those in the ICU or at particular risk for other reasons. Blood tests are commonly used to accurately determine the infectious agent responsible, and to test for antimicrobial susceptibility, to select appropriate antimicrobial therapy to fight the disease. It is also important to identify and limit potential epidemics by surveying at-risk patient populations and rapidly determining the origin of infections.
Hospitals are required to have in place strict protocols for cleanliness, sanitation and disinfection in their facilities. This includes ensuring sterile conditions and equipment under all circumstances. Should a known infection be reported at a hospital it is essential that a facility take steps to limit spreading and eradicate any presence of the infection as quickly and efficiently as possible. Preventive personal equipment (such as masks and gloves) are an effective way of avoiding person to person transmission and should be accompanied by proper disinfection and sanitisation of hands and equipment. Keeping patients healthy and avoiding contamination is vital. This would include isolating known carriers to avoid cross infection as well as intensive disinfection of any areas or equipment where the infection may have been spread.
A healthcare facility’s preventative plan and management would include the following basic steps:
- Environmental control
- Regular air, water and surface monitoring
- Stringent cleaning and disinfection of equipment and environments
- Patient isolation (or cohorting) when appropriate
- Infection control
- Close monitoring of at-risk patients and populations
- Hand hygiene and good general hygiene practices
- Hygienic conditions for medical procedures
- Appropriate use antimicrobial drugs
- Use of catheters only as indicated
- Surveillance
- Outbreak management
- Automated alerts for antimicrobial-resistant infections
- Information transfer and management
- High-level, coordinated reporting
- Epidemiological surveillance and tracking
- Treatment
- Treatment with appropriate antimicrobials
- Removal of temporary medical devices (such as catheters) if possible
- Therapeutic monitoring to stop antimicrobials as early as possible
Conclusion
Proving a medical negligence claim due to harm from a hospital acquired infection is a complicated process. Worldwide there are limited instances where claimants have been successful in proving that an infection was caused due to negligence. Most often it is the treatment of the infection that is below the accepted medical standard and results in harm to the patient. It is however always within a patient’s right to receive proper medical care and have their care investigated if they feel this was below an acceptable level.
In complicated cases such as these specialist medical malpractice attorneys are best suited to investigate and follow through with such a claim. Our firm has specialised in medical negligence litigation for more than 25 years and confidently deal with poorly managed infections. If you suspect that an infection was not treated correctly and you have suffered harm as a result, feel free to contact us at Paul du Plessis Attorneys with your enquiry or visit www.pauldup.co.za.
For more information you can visit these sources:
https://pauldup.co.za/medical-negligence/
https://www.biomerieux.co.za/resources/healthcare-information/healthcare-associated-infections
http://www.scielo.org.za/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0256-95742016000500033