Ministry Reports
Infection Control rates may vary from month to month. The smaller the facility, the greater the rates will vary. This is because a change in even one case in a small facility will cause the rate to go up and down considerably. AGH and CPDMH report on the following:
- C.difficile Infection Rates
- MRSA Infection Rates
- VRE Infection Rates
- Hand Hygiene Compliance Rates
- Surgical Safety Checklist
Download CPDMH Patient Safety Compliance Rates
C.difficile Infection Rates
C. difficile (Clostridium difficile) is a bacteria. C. difficile-associated Disease is one of the most common infections found in hospitals. Each Ontario hospital is required to provide monthly updates of its C. difficile Infection Rate. A hospital's C. difficile Infection Rate is calculated as follows: The number of new hospital-acquired cases of C. difficile times 1,000, divided by the hospital's total number of patient days for one month*.
*The total number of days that services were provided to all in-patients during that month, excluding patient days for those patients less than one year of age.
MRSA Infection Rates
S. aureus is a germ that lives on the skin and mucous membranes of healthy people. Occasionally, S. aureus can cause an infection. When S. aureus develops resistance to certain antibiotics, it is called methicillin resistant staphylococcus aureus, or MRSA.
Each Ontario hospital is required to provide monthly updates of its MRSA Infection Rate. MRSA bacteraemia rates are determined by the number of patients newly diagnosed with hospital-acquired MRSA bacteraemia, divided by the number of patient days in that month, and multiplied by 1,000. Patient days are the number of days spent in a hospital for all patients.
VRE Infection Rates
Enterococci are a type of bacteria normally present in the human intestines and in the environment. These bacteria can sometimes cause infections. Vancomycin is an antibiotic that is often used to treat infections caused by enterococci. In some instances, enterococci have become resistant to this drug and are therefore called vancomycin resistant enterococci (VRE).
Each Ontario hospital is required to provide monthly updates of its VRE Infection Rate. VRE bacteraemia rates are determined by the number of patients newly diagnosed with hospital-acquired VRE bacteraemia, divided by the number of patient days in that month, and multiplied by 1,000. Patient days are the number of days spent in a hospital for all patients.
Hand Hygiene Compliance Rates
Proper hand hygiene is the single most effective way of reducing health care associated infections. As part of its ongoing patient safety initiative, Ontario requires all hospitals to monitor and report hand hygiene compliance rates in their facilities so the most appropriate infection prevention and control measures can be put in place. Hospitals use this information to ensure they're maintaining the highest possible standards of patient safety.
Surgical Safety Checklist
Ontario is enhancing patient safety by requiring all hospitals to use a surgical safety checklist. The surgical safety checklist - which covers the most common tasks and items that operating room teams carry out - has been shown to reduce rates of deaths and complications among patients. Some of the items included are the review of test results, administration of antibiotics and post-surgery recovery plans.
AGH Surgical Safety Checklist
|
| 2018-2019
|
2019-2020
|
2020-2021
|
2021-2022
|
|---|
|
Compliance %
|
|
100%
|
100%
|
100%
|
98.7%
|
| | | | |
|
CPDMH Surgical Safety Checklist
| 2018-2019 | 2019-2020 | 2020-2021 | 2021-2022 |
|---|
Compliance % | 98.5% | 98.6% | 98.4% | 95.3% | |
|---|
For More Information
To find out more about Ministry reporting and efforts to improve patient safety in Ontario hospitals, visit the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care website and search "Patient Safety".