Infection control
The everyday practices that stop infections spreading in a healthcare setting. Here is what it covers and why it matters when you have a procedure abroad.
Keeping care clean and safe.
Infection control, also called infection prevention and control, is the set of routines that reduce the chance of an infection during care.
Infection control is the practice of preventing the spread of germs in a healthcare setting, to protect patients, staff, and visitors. It runs from the simple and constant, such as cleaning hands, to the technical, such as sterilising instruments and managing clinical waste.
Core elements include hand hygiene, the cleaning, disinfection, and sterilisation of equipment, environmental cleaning, safe handling of waste, and what are called standard precautions, the basic measures staff use with every patient at all times. Before surgery, teams also follow specific steps to reduce surgical site infection, including thorough surgical hand preparation to lower the bacteria on the hands before the team puts on sterile gloves and gowns.
When these routines are followed consistently, they cut the transmission of microorganisms between patients, staff, and the environment. Bodies such as the World Health Organization and national health agencies publish guidance that many countries adapt into their own standards.
An invisible part of your safety.
Any procedure that breaks the skin carries a risk of infection. Good infection control is one of the biggest factors in keeping that risk low, yet it is the part of a clinic you cannot see in a photo or a price list. Standards and the patterns of antibiotic resistant bacteria also vary between countries, which can affect how an infection is treated if one occurs.
You cannot audit a hospital yourself, but you can ask. Ask how instruments are sterilised, whether the facility tracks its infection rates, and what the plan is if you develop a wound infection after you return home, including which antibiotics and follow up are arranged. A clinic that answers these clearly is showing you something a brochure never will. If you notice spreading redness, increasing pain, swelling, discharge, or a fever after a procedure, seek medical care promptly.
Where this comes up.
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