Preventing and controlling infections

Infection prevention and control (IPAC) is a shared responsibility for everyone. Through our IPAC team, NL Health Services is committed to your safety by preventing and controlling infections acquired within our facilities.

Our IPAC program monitors infections across health-care facilities to improve patient safety. For more information visit Monitoring infection prevention and control.

• If you have any symptoms such as cough, fever, diarrhea or vomiting, do not visit hospitals or long-term care homes. 
• If you are a patient experiencing these symptoms, let your health-care team know immediately. Avoid direct interaction with others to reduce the risk of infection.
• Clean your hands often. Alcohol-based hand rub dispensers are placed throughout our facilities. Please use them frequently and wash your hands regularly. 

It is okay to ask visitors or members of your health-care team to wash their hands before and after they see you.

Washing your hands is the best way to stop the spread of disease.

Practicing good hand hygiene is the most effective way to prevent health-care associated infections.

Hand hygiene involves either washing your hands with soap and water or using alcohol-based hand rub (ABHR). Washing with soap removes germs from your skin and ABHRs kill 99.99 per cent of the most common germs that cause illness. 

When should you wash your hands?

• When your hands are visibly dirty.
• Before eating or preparing food.
• After touching raw meats, using the washroom or changing diapers.
• After coughing or sneezing into your hands or blowing your nose.
• After contact with body fluids like blood, urine or vomit.
• After touching animals and pets.

In health-care settings, wash your hands:

• Before and after initial patient contact.
• Before aseptic procedures like inserting an I.V. or changing a dressing.
• After risk of contact with bodily fluids.
• Before entering and leaving rooms.
• Before touching surfaces or providing care.
• When providing care to more than one patient.
• After removing gloves.

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a growing public health concern and ranked as one of the top 10 global public health threats by the World Health Organization. The rise of antibiotic-resistant bacteria means that once-treatable illness, like pneumonia or tuberculosis, could become incurable.

How you can help: 

• Avoid overusing antibiotics and use only as prescribed.
• For colds, coughs or sore throats, ask about safer options like fluids and rest.

Learn more at Choosing Wisely Canada and check out their patient resources.

You may need to wear personal protective equipment (PPE), such as gloves, gowns, mask and/or eye protection, when visiting a hospital or health-care facility. Follow the instructions on signs outside the room and check with nursing staff before entering.

Our PPE resources include: 

• Guidelines for putting on PPE in 5 easy steps.
• Guidelines for taking off PPE in 6 easy steps.
• Routine practices for all health-care settings.
• Airborne precautions.
• Visitor contact precautions.
• Droplet contact precautions.
• Droplet precautions.
• Visitor precautions are in place.
• Restricted visiting due to influenza-like illness.
• Restricted visiting due to gastrointestinal illness.
• Aerosol Generating Medical Procedure (AGMP) in progress.

We provide resources to help you understand and prevent infectious diseases including: 

• Hand hygiene.
• Visiting during outbreaks. 
• Gastroenteritis outbreak management.
• Clostridiodes Difficile (C. Diff).
• Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV)
• Respiratory etiquette, cover your cough.
• Outbreak management of respiratory illness.
• Influenza vaccine.
• Pneumococcal vaccine and disease.
• Room cleaning for acute and long-term care.
• Additional precautions.
• Additional precautions (airborne, droplet, contact).
• Antibiotic resistant organisms (AROs).

Our IPAC team offers consultation and resources based on best practices and scientific evidence. We collaborate with the Public Health Agency of Canada and participate in research to improve patient care.