A study to assess the infection control practices as a part of patient safety in a dialysis unit of a tertiary care teaching hospital

Patient safety is a matter of growing interest and a key component of healthcare quality. Dialysis facilities are complex organizations that involve providers from multiple disciplines and use advanced technology to care for patients with multiple serious illnesses. Hemodialysis (HD) patients have a high comorbidity burden, polypharmacy, and the physiological consequences of established kidney disease mean that patients on Renal replacement therapy (RRT) are potentially vulnerable to medical errors. There can be costly consequences related to safety events, for patients and for health networks, increasing length of stay, readmissions in the hospital and risk of death. HD patients as well as the dialysis staff are vulnerable to contracting health-care-associated infections (HAIs) due to frequent and prolonged exposure to many possible contaminants in the dialysis environment. Infection is the most common cause of hospitalization and the second most common cause of mortality among HD patients, after cardiovascular disease. The study aims to assess the infection control practices in the dialysis unit of a tertiary care teaching hospital and to assess the physical facilities in relation to infection control practices and patient safety. It is a descriptive and observational study and information is collected through observational checklist and personal observation based on the guidelines and patient safety audit checklist given by National Health Authority (NHA), India and Manual for Patient Safety Assessment, 2020, 3rd edition given by WHO. The overall infection control practices in the dialysis unit are satisfactory except for few like shortcomings in audit of physical facilities like inadequate ventilation and lack of adequate examining lights, stretchers and wheel chairs