What is a Healthcare Acquired Infection?

Healthcare Acquired Infections (HCAIs) are caused by a wide range of micro-organisms and, as the term suggests, are associated with medical care and treatment. The burden of HCAIs has mainly been in hospitals where more serious infections are seen. However, health care, particularly invasive health care, provided in any setting can pose a risk of HCAI. 

Not all HCAIs are preventable but up to 30 per cent may be. 

We are now treating patients who only a decade ago could not have been treated at all. Those patients are often very sick and vulnerable to infection. The medical procedures that they undergo may be more invasive and present a greater opportunity, than in the past, for infection to get a foothold. 

Being cared for in a safe clean environment and being given the highest standards of care every time you receive treatment will help to minimise your risk of acquiring a HCAI.