Dear Editor:
Re: Listen to the nurses Burnaby NOW, Oct. 31, 2012
B.C. Nurses' Union president Debra McPherson is correct in stating that nurses have a critical role to play in reducing C. difficile infection (CDI) rates.
McPherson is not correct in stating that Fraser Health does not have a plan in place. Fraser Health has implemented a comprehensive infection prevention and control strategy to reduce C. difficile and other infections at Burnaby Hospital and across Fraser Health.
This strategy, which builds on work underway for several years, includes enhanced cleaning, the hiring of additional frontline infection control practitioners and a renewed focus on hand hygiene and infection prevention and control practices.
In addition, Fraser Health has made physical improvements to Burnaby Hospital, including reducing the number of three-bed patient rooms and increasing the number of two-bed and single patient rooms by opening a new 19-bed medicine unit.
These strategies have resulted in a 35 per cent reduction in the CDI rate across Fraser Health (11.3 cases per 10,000 patient days in 2011/12 reduced to 7.3 cases per 10,000 patient days year-to-date 2012/13) and a 40 per cent reduction at Burnaby Hospital (15.2 cases per 10,000 patient days in 2011/12 reduced to nine cases per 10,000 patient days year-to-date 2012/13).
However, we know there is still work to be done. Fraser Health is committed to reducing these rates further to achieve the Canadian benchmark rate of six cases per 10,000 patient days.
We are confident that by committing to the strategy and actions underway and remaining open to new ideas and solutions we will continue to see steady progress in reducing CDI rates both at Burnaby Hospital and across Fraser Health.
Dr. Elizabeth Brodkin, Fraser Health and Cathie Heritage, Burnaby Hospital
