Infection Control Team consists of two infection control (IC) physicians, and six IC nurses one working at the Hacettepe Oncology Hospital. The office is located on the ground floor of the main hospital building. The activities can be categorized as patient care and education.

A. PATIENT CARE:

The nurses perform active, prospective, patient- and laboratory-based surveillance on specialized hospital wards such as the ICUs and transplant units. Surveillance also includes selected surgical procedures, all central venous catheter-related infections in the Oncology Hospital as well as laboratory-based surveillance of bloodstream infections in the hospitals in general. The IC nurses contact and inform the units when isolation precautions are necessary for a particular inpatient.

The operating rooms, all wards, the Disinfection-Sterilization Unit, laundry and catering sites are supervised regularly. The quality of cleaning and disinfection services is evaluated by cross checks performed by the Directorates of Hospital Housekeeping and Nursing Services as per standard of procedures (SOPs) developed by the IC team. Risk evaluation is made before any renovative or construction activity, and appropriate precautions are taken. 

The hospital ward of an outbreak or clustering is supervised more closely, with more frequent cleaning and disinfection activities. Screening samples are obtained when a clustering of healthcare-associated infection is suspected, and sent to the Research lab of the Department of Infectious Diseases and Clinical Microbiology for conventional culture and/or PCR in order to determine the asymptomatic carriers in a timely manner for isolation.  The isolates of screening cultures are studied with “Arbitrarily primed polymerase chain reaction” (AP-PCR) or “pulsed-field gel electrophoresis” (PFGE) for molecular epidemiological purposes. Samples from the environment or potential sources are obtained for culture and sent to the Microbiology Division of the Central Hospital Lab. In this way, we aim to break the potential chain of transmission as soon as possible. 

Special isolation precautions are implemented according to the pathogen, such as contact, droplet, and airborne isolation. Schematized card for that particular type of isolation is hung outside the patient room. Patients with contact and airborne isolation are hospitalized in single patient rooms; patients infected with the same pathogen may be isolated together. Cards for appropriate use of personal protective equipment and hand hygiene are hung in visible areas in all units of the hospital. IC nurses maintain a constant contact with the IC physicians in meetings held three times a week. The IC team holds a routine meeting with the remaining members of the Infection Control Committee three times annually, and with the Hospital administration and the related hospital division whenever an extraordinary situation arises.

B. EDUCATION

1. Training of Residents:

            The aim of this training is to teach the residents about potential infectious risks in routine clinical practice and how to prevent them. This is provided in two formats:

            a. Rotation in the Infection Control Committee:  The residents have a rotation in the IC Committee in accordance with the graduate core educational requirements. The duration of rotation is three months for ID residents, four months for subspecialty training in Epidemiology, two months for Microbiology & Clinical Microbiology residents, and finally, one month for Public Health residents. In addition to basic theoretical lectures, they participate actively in surveillance, Committee meetings and outbreak investigation. In addition, they take the online course and exam titled “Remote Training Program in Infection Control” prepared by the Public Health Division of the Turkish Ministry of Health.

            b. Training of Residents: Residents in the Department of Medicine and those in subspecialty training for ICU are trained for infection prevention and control annually. Every resident new at Hacettepe University hospitals should take the Orientation Course for Infection Control.

2. Training of Other Healthcare Personnel:

            a. Our Hospital is a certified training center for the “Certificate Program of Infection Control Nursing of the Ministry of Health”.  Our IC staff members participate in this program of widespread attendance from various university, state, or private hospitals.

            b. Infection control team trains other nurses, cleaning and healthcare personnel about prevention and control of healthcare-associated infections.

            c. Every nurse new at the hospital receives an orientation course for infection control in 2 weeks of appointment. This is repeated at least twice a year as a part of in-service training. The remaining health personnel are trained within the context of the Orientation Program. This is repeated as requested and needed. 

            d. Nursing students as well as students in Physical Therapy and Dentistry have lectures and classes about infection control and prevention.