Hygiene: controlling infections and optimising the quality of healthcare

"Nosocomial infections (infections acquired in the context of medical care) are frequent and widely studied adverse events due to hospitalisation. A study conducted in 1999 in 18 Swiss hospitals showed that more than 10% of patients in our country have a nosocomial infection."*
 
At the Clinique Générale-Beaulieu, the main objective of hospital hygiene is to protect patients from the risks of healthcare-associated infections. The Board of Health has been active since 1998 and defines an annual program of actions to ensure the implementation of guidelines from the Cantonal Director of Public Health, as well as specific recommendations from different reference organisations, at both national and international levels. The Committee includes the Director, the Director of Operations, the Senior Medical Officer, the Staff Physician, the Public Health Nurse, the Hygiene Specialists from each sector and the relevant managers.
 
It works in partnership with the Division of Infectious Diseases at Hôpitaux Universitaires de Genève, HUG (Geneva University Hospitals) and also with the Prevention and Infection Control Service of HUG, in order to benefit from the scientific expertise of Professor D. Pittet’s team and the "Geneva Model".