8 steps that have a dramatic impact on hospital hygiene

The number of hospital-acquired vancomycin-resistant enterococci infections could be significantly reduced if hospitals use an eight-point cleaning program, Australian research has shown.

Vancomycin-resistant enterococci infection rates in 11 major Australian hospitals (median 500 beds) dropped by around 37% when cleaning staff adhered to the stepped cleaning approach, Queensland University of Technology researchers report in Lancet Infectious Diseases. 

Further, more surfaces were cleaned, with the number of touchpoints in rooms properly scrubbed rising from 64% to 86% and from 55% to 76% in bathrooms, they wrote.

However, the protocol had no significant effect on Staphylococcus aureus or Clostridium difficile infection.

The eight key features of the cleaning bundle tested in the Researching Effective Approaches to Cleaning in Hospitals (REACH) study were: