All patients infected with infectious diseases must be hospitalized in specialized departments. The exceptions are diseases such as influenza or measles, in which treatment at home is allowed. The purpose of hospitalization in the infectious ward is not only treatment, but also complete isolation of the patient, preventing the further spread of the infection.
How are patients admitted?
Reception and accommodation of patients is carried out in accordance with a flow-through system, according to which patients from the moment of receipt until discharge are not in contact with other people suffering from other infectious diseases. Each patient delivered to the infectious ward in a special vehicle is taken in an isolated box. Some large hospitals have separate rooms for patients with various infections. So, in one of the boxes there is a reception of patients with typhoid fever, in the other with meningitis, and in the third with dysentery. Juveniles are hospitalized in the children's infectious diseases unit.
The doctor of the admission department must check the diagnosis, which is indicated in the accompanying card, and only after that he sends the applicant to the hospital. The nurse of the infectious diseases department places patients, guided by a nosological sign and taking into account the transmission mechanisms of the disease.
Requirements for the wards and boxes in which patients are admitted
Any infectious department is divided into separate boxes, eliminating possible contacts between patients. They must include staff robes, tubes with a preservative mixture for testing for intestinal pathogens, sterile swabs for taking diphtheria smears and a set of emergency tools. Medical workers enter the boxes through the internal entrance.
Infectious wards in which patients are kept must comply with certain sanitary and hygienic standards. So, the distance between adjacent beds should not be less than 1 m, and the cubic capacity of the room should be at least 18 cubic meters per patient. All chambers must be equipped with a system of supply and exhaust ventilation.
Sanitary-hygienic regimen of the infectious department
Personnel are required to regularly clean the chambers and other rooms. Each patient should be washed weekly in the shower or bath. Seriously ill patients are regularly wiped and preventive measures are taken to prevent the occurrence of pressure sores. Mandatory change of underwear and bed linen should occur at least once a week.
In addition, the department must have a stock of disinfectants and insecticides. The staff must at least twice a day wipe the floors not only in the wards in which the patients are located, but also in the corridors. All dirty dishes are first treated with a solution of chloramine or bleach, and then boiled and carefully dried. Unfinished food is poured with bleach and thrown into a cesspool or sewer.
How does disinfection take place?
The work of the infection department is based on certain rules. Regular disinfection is mandatory. Patient's dirty laundry is first soaked in a solution of chloramine, and then boiled and washed. The children's infectious diseases department compulsorily carries out the processing of linen, care items for young patients and their toys.The latrines contain containers filled with a 10% solution of bleach, intended for the disinfection of shelves, pots and ships. Mattresses from the beds of recovered patients must be sent to a disinfection chamber.
How are grocery transfers controlled?
The telephone number of the infectious diseases department, by which you can find the list of permitted products, is easily recognized in the city certificate. The medical staff must remember that the speedy recovery of the patient directly depends on his nutrition. Therefore, some products cannot be transferred to the infectious wards. For example, patients diagnosed with typhoid fever are strictly forbidden to consume dairy products and smoked meats.
What are the responsibilities of nurses?
The infectious diseases department implies a clear distribution of official and functional duties of staff. The department must have a procedural nurse involved in the preparation of systems for jet and drip infusions. In addition, her responsibilities include performing intravenous and intramuscular injections. Nurses should monitor the condition of patients and immediately report to the doctor about all changes that occur. They are required to strictly comply with all medical appointments and timely glue in the medical history the results of laboratory tests. The nurse should regularly instruct incoming patients about the routine established in the ward.
How are patients recovered?
Patients do not have the right to leave the infectious diseases ward before the expiration of the mandatory isolation period. The discharge of recovered patients becomes possible only after the complete disappearance of the clinical symptoms of the disease and after receiving negative bacteriological results. The patient leaves the infectious ward in his own clothing, which has been pretreated in a hospital disinfection chamber.
