Healthcare-associated infections (HCAIs) caused by drug-resistant bacteria like MRSA and C.difficile continue to pose a grave threat, leading to preventable deaths and burdening healthcare resources and remain a costly challenge for NHS England.
To combat this issue, improving hand hygiene (HH) compliance has been identified as a crucial preventive measure.
A prevalence study conducted in 2011 revealed that approximately 6.4% of patients in NHS England were affected by HCAIs. Although the exact numbers may have changed over time, the costs associated with HCAIs have undoubtedly escalated.
In 2009, it was estimated that NHS England was spending over £1 billion annually to combat these infections, with the costs of nursing care, hospital overheads, medical time, investigations, consumables, and drugs taken into account.
In 2020, the annual cost of HCAIs in NHS England ranged from £1.6 billion to £5 billion, accounting for approximately 1.3% to 4.1% of the total NHS England commissioning budget.
To gain deeper insights into the financial burden of HCAIs, a comprehensive analysis was conducted. The study examined the impact of the five most significant HCAIs: surgical site infections, central line-associated bloodstream infections, catheter-associated urinary tract infections, ventilator-associated pneumonia, and C.difficile infections.
Among the various HCAIs, surgical site infections were found to be the most frequent and costly, while central line-associated bloodstream infections incurred the highest cost per case.
Studies suggest that improving HH compliance from 50% to 80% could lead to a remarkable 20% reduction in HCAI rates.
Such a reduction would yield significant cost savings for individual hospitals as well as the overall NHS England system. Although achieving sustained improvements in HH compliance is challenging, it is very much an achievable goal.
The use of innovative technologies that monitor hand hygiene have emerged as potential solutions which are likely to be introduced in the next few years.
However, without a clear understanding of the associated costs, it becomes difficult to make a compelling economic case for investing in these technologies. With this in mind, there is a pressing need for further research to evaluate the potential savings associated with these solutions.
