A decree published in the Official Journal creates regional centers dedicated to the prevention and monitoring of infections associated with care.
Infections that occur following treatment in a healthcare establishment (nosocomial infections) or in a doctor’s office are common. Each year in France, more than 750,000 patients are affected and 4,000 die from it. Treatment-associated infections (HAIs) can be effectively linked to patient care, or simply occur during hospitalization. The bacteria, fungi or viruses responsible for these infections can come from the patient himself or be transported by medical staff or come from the hospital environment (medical device, food equipment, etc.).
Declare “without delay”
To fight against this scourge, the French authorities have stepped up the monitoring and prevention of these infections. a decree published this Sunday at Official newspaper thus sets the conditions under which these events must be declared and monitored.
Thus, any health professional, or any legal representative of a health establishment, must declare “without delay” to the director general of the regional health agency (ARS) the occurrence of any HAI meeting at least one of the criteria. following: unexpected or unusual infection (by the nature, location or circumstances of the infection, due to antibiotic resistance, etc.), infection in the form of grouped cases, death linked to the infection.
Reactivity
Establishments or health professionals should specify the nature, date and circumstances of the infection, as well as the investigations that have been carried out and the measures taken to prevent the spread.
These elements are decisive, while many patients who turn to intermediary bodies (associations of hospital users, Defender of Rights, etc.) deplore the reluctance of certain establishments to react to a case of infection. nosocomial.
Note that these infections are the responsibility of hospitals (AP-HP for Paris hospitals) and give the right to compensation for the patients who are victims. Recently seized by a patient, the Constitutional Council ruled that when the IAS occurs outside the hospital (doctor’s office, for example), then, the patient must be compensated under the same conditions.
Regional prevention center
In addition, the decree strengthens the prevention of these infections by creating a dedicated structure. In each region, a “support center for the prevention of healthcare-associated infections” will be set up for a renewable period of five years. The center will be located in a health establishment designated by the director of the ARS. A decree will set the specifications for these centers.
“The person in charge of the center (…) is a doctor or a pharmacist competent in hospital hygiene or in the prevention of infectious risks”, specifies the order.
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