Infection Prevention and Control

At the Royal Ottawa Mental Health Care Group, patient safety is a top priority. In order to help keep patients safe, we aim to reduce the spread of communicable diseases and hospital-acquired infections. The Infection Prevention and Control Program at The Royal is developed using evidence-based practices and procedures. It involves many aspects of keeping patients, staff and visitors safe including the surveillance of infectious diseases, hand hygiene, education, communication, and monitoring outbreaks. We strive to prevent and reduce the spread of infections between health care workers, patients, and visitors.

Our Infection Control staff are active in programs to reduce the spread of communicable diseases and hospital-acquired infections and to provide education to staff, visitors and patients on these topics. To make sure we keep track of infections and to ensure our rates of infection stay low, we have a program to monitor infection rates. Our ultimate goal is to keep our patients safe, and provide excellent care to all who need our services.

As of 2010, The Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care requires Ontario Hospitals to publicly report on nine patient safety indicators. The Royal Ottawa Mental Health Care Group report on the following indicators:

For more information on Patient Safety Indicator results at Health Quality Ontario, please click here.

Clostridium difficile Infection (CDI)

What is C. difficile?

C. difficile (Clostridium difficile) is a spore-forming bacterium that can be part of the normal bacteria found in the large intestine. A C. difficile infection occurs when other good bacteria in the bowel are eliminated or decreased allowing the C. difficile bacteria to grow and produce toxin. The toxin produced can damage the bowel and cause diarrhea.

What is The Royal doing to minimize the risk of patients contracting C. difficile at their facilities?

Good hand hygiene (i.e. cleaning hands thoroughly and often) is the single-most effective way to prevent the spread of infectious diseases like C. difficile. The Royal is committed to promoting hand hygiene for patient care. We provide access to alcohol-based hand products as well as soap and water throughout the facility for staff, patients and visitors to use. We also follow the advice of the Ontario “Just Clean Your Hands” including providing education to staff and auditing our hand-hygiene practices.

Any patient with C. difficile diarrhea will be isolated until free of the symptoms for at least two days. All health care staff that enters the patient’s room will wear a gown and gloves, and will clean their hands when leaving the room.

The Royal also works with its housekeeping team to ensure a clean hospital environment and that best practices are followed for cleaning in situations where patients are identified with C. difficile.

For further information, please view the C. difficile Patient Information Sheet.

The Royal posts its C. difficile infection rates online on a monthly basis. On this website, you can find information about hospital-acquired infection rates for C. difficile.

  January 2019 February 2019 March 2019 April 2019 May 2019 June 2019 July 2019 August 2019 September 2019 October 2019 November 2019 December 2019
# of New Cases 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
  January 2020 February 2020 March 2020 April 2020 May 2020 June 2020 July 2020 August 2020 September 2020 October 2020 November 2020 December 2020
# of New Cases 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.20 0 0 0 0 0
  January 2021 February 2021 March 2021 April 2021 May 2021 June 2021 July 2021 August 2021 September 2021 October 2021 November 2021 December 2021
# of New Cases 0 0 0 0 0 0.18 0 0 0 0 0 0
  January 2022 February 2022 March 2022 April 2022 May 2022 June 2022 July 2022 August 2022 September 2022 October 2022 November 2022 December 2022
# of New Cases 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
  January 2023 February 2023 March 2023 April 2023 May 2023 June 2023 July 2023 August 2023 September 2023 October 2023 November 2023 December 2023
# of New Cases 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

 

  January 2024 February 2024 March 2024 April 2024 May 2024 June 2024 July 2024 August 2024 September 2024 October 2024 November 2024 December 2024
# of New Cases 0                      

Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA)

What is Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA)?

MRSA is a type of staphylococcus bacterium (a germ) that is resistant to many common antibiotics. It is not resistant to all antibiotics, however. Staphylococcus bacteria (or ‘staph’) often live on the skin or in the nose, without causing any health problems (this is called colonization). Most people who carry MRSA on their skin or in their nose do not get an infection, or get sick from it.

What is The Royal doing to minimize the risk of patients contracting MRSA at their facilities?

Good hand hygiene (i.e. cleaning hands thoroughly and often) is the single-most effective way to prevent the spread of infectious diseases. The Royal is committed to promoting hand hygiene for patient care. We provide access to alcohol-based hand products as well as soap and water throughout the facility for staff, patients and visitors to use. We also follow the advice of the Ontario “ Just Clean Your Hands” including providing education to staff and auditing our hand-hygiene practices.

For further information, please view the MRSA Patient Information Sheet.

  October-December 2019 January-March 2020 April-June 2020 July-September 2020 October-December 2020 January-March
2021		 April-June 2021 July-September 2021 October-December
2021
# of New Cases 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
  January-March
2022		 April-June 2022 July-September 2022 October-December
2022		 January-March
2023		 April-June 2023 July-September 2023 October-December
2023
# of New Cases 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Vancomycin-Resistant Enterococci (VRE)

What is Vancomycin-Resistant Enterococci (VRE)?

Enterococci are bacteria normally found in a person’s bowels. These bacteria can sometimes cause infection. Vancomycin is an antibiotic used to treat infection caused by enterococci. One strain of Enterococcus bacteria known as Vancomycin Resistant Enterococcus (VRE) has developed resistance to vancomycin.

What is The Royal doing to minimize the risk of patients contracting VRE at their facilities?

Just Clean Your Hands" including providing education to staff and auditing our hand-hygiene practices.

For more information, please view the VRE Patient Information Sheet

  October-December 2019 January-March 2020 April-June 2020 July-September 2020 October-December 2020 January-March 2021 April-June 2021 July-September 2021 October-December 2021
# of New Cases 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
  January-March 2022 April-June 2022 July-September 2022 October-December 2022 January-March 2023 April-June 2023 July-September 2023 October-December 2023
# of New Cases 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Hand Hygiene Compliance

Why is hand hygiene so important?

Hand hygiene is an important practice for health care providers and has a significant impact on reducing the spread of infections in hospitals. Hand hygiene is a different way of thinking about safety and patient care and involves everyone in the hospital, including patients, visitors and health care providers.

We have a number of practices in place to help prevent and control infections, including a comprehensive hand hygiene program. All Ontario hospitals are required to annually post their hand hygiene compliance rates to further promote accountability and transparency within the health system.

What is The Royal doing to improve hand hygiene practices?

Hand hygiene involves everyone in the hospital, including patients. Hand cleaning is one of the best ways you and your health care team can prevent the spread of many infections. Patients and their visitors should also practice good hand hygiene before and after entering patient rooms.

Alcohol based hand rub (ABHR) is placed in strategic locations within our facilities and education is provided to all staff with the ‘Just Clean Your Hands’ training module from the Ministry of Health and Long Term Care. We are offering small portable ABHR for staff to carry to ensure they will be able to clean their hands at any given time, in any given place.

  April 2018-March 2019 April 2019-March 2020 April 2020-March 2021 April 2021-
March 2022		 April 2022-March 2023
Before Patient/Patient Environment 89% 84.5% 81% 91% 90.5%
After Patient/Patient Environment 87.5% 87% 77% 88% 91%