RCN: nursing staff central to infection prevention

Published: 11 March 2013

Nursing staff must be included in efforts to improve infection control and raise awareness of the threat posed by resistant bacteria, the Royal College of Nursing has said.

The comments were made in response to the publication of the second volume of the Chief Medical Officer’s annual report. The report provides a comprehensive overview of the threat of antimicrobial resistance and infectious diseases, and in it Professor Dame Sally Davies calls on politicians to treat the threat as seriously as MRSA.

Dr Peter Carter, RCN Chief Executive & General Secretary, said: “This is an important issue and it is the responsibility of everyone in health care, from front line staff to the Government, to act.

Nursing staff play an important role by driving improvements in infection prevention and supporting patient and public education on the use of antibiotics.”