Infection control and changes in management of hospitals: the European experience

The general setting for the management of many European hospitals has under gone enormous changes during the last five to 10 years, especially with res pect to economic, personnel and technical resources. This change has had a serious influence on the practice of infection control. To get an insight o f the problems infection control practitioners in Europe today have to face , hospital epidemiologists representing nine European countries were asked to answer a questionnaire. In most countries, new laws on communicable dise ase prevention and infection control in hospitals haz-e been implemented du ring the last few years. In conjunction with the widespread introduction of quality assurance and the accreditation of hospitals, organizational aspec ts of infection control have gained importance. However, budget restriction s and the growing competition between institutions are major challenges. In general, there has been a remarkable influence of the documented changes o n the practice of infection control in European hospitals. Facing this situ ation, infection control practitioners should abandon unproven measures and implement those that are evidence-based, to prevent hospital acquired infe ction (HAI). Cost reducing initiatives, like the use of well designed multi -use devices and the reuse of disposables should be considered and scientif ically assessed. (C) 1999 The Hospital Infection Society.