Local Nursing Academic Leading National Care Standards on PPE

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UWL's Professor Jennie Wilson publishes new guidelines on limiting infection risk

A University of West London (UWL) nursing academic has published a new set of guidelines to limit infection risks from the use of personal protective equipment in critical care.

Professor Jennie Wilson, Professor of Healthcare Epidemiology at UWL and Vice-President of the Infection Prevention Society (IPS), has put together a simple guide for healthcare professionals across the country to help them maximise the benefit of PPE and keep staff and patients safe during the Covid-19 outbreak.

Explaining everything from safe glove and gown use, to why alcohol gel is not suitable for decontaminating ventilator equipment, the IPS document, ‘Using PPE for Covid-19 in Intensive Care Settings’ hopes to offer simple, shareable solutions for safety on hospital wards.

As well as highlighting important standard infection control precautions, the guidelines will help ensure standards of care are not compromised as a result of life-saving PPE use by reducing the risks of increased transmission of hospital infections and antibiotic-resistant bacteria.

Professor Wilson said: “Any healthcare-associated infection can be devastating for patients in care settings, and unfortunately inappropriate use of PPE can actually transmit a host of other dangerous infections.

“So while its use is incredibly important in care settings, it is vital that healthcare staff are aware of best practice and that safe, infection prevention and control practices remain in place alongside high standards of care to prevent the spread of the virus, or other infections.”

The Q&A and video were developed by Professor Wilson along with Professor Hugh Montgomery, Professor of Medicine at University College London.

June 3, 2020