Failure to implement infection control precautions can lead to potential complications that include the spread of infection to otherwise healthy individuals within the ward or facility where the infection occurs and even out into the community through visitors who become infected (Banach, Bearman, Morgan & Munoz-Price, 2015). Thus, complications that arise from infection spreading may not be confined to the hospital or facility where they occur but can easily become an issue that impacts the outside world as well. Examples abound, whether they are influenza related, SARS-related, and so on. Communities can suffer significantly when even the simplest infection control precautions are not followed by nurses in health care facilities.
Another potential complication can be resource-related, as infection spreading can lead to a drain on resources as procedures are put in place to stem the spread and deal with contamination, quarantine and clean-up (Koutlakis-Barron & Hayden, 2016; Revolinski, Huang & Gibble, 2018). When infection control precautions such as good hygiene practices, good record keeping, proper waste disposal, safe injection practices, the use of personal protective equipment, respiratory hygiene, and disinfection practices are ignored or not followed as per standard precautionary recommendations, it can lead to resource drain, with nurses becoming sick and having to call off work; patients becoming worse and requiring more care thus putting nurses in an overburdened position as they must also provide services to other patients as well. It can be a drain on financial resources as more funds will be needed to support the longer hours and overtime that some nurses may be forced to work to cover other nurses’ shifts as they call off because of sickness.
References
Banach, D. B., Bearman, G. M., Morgan, D. J., & Munoz-Price, L. S. (2015). Infection control precautions for visitors to healthcare facilities. Expert Review of Anti-Infective Therapy, 13(9), 1047-1050.
Koutlakis-Barron, I., & Hayden, T. A. (2016). Essentials of infection prevention in the pediatric population. International Journal of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, 3(4), 143-152.
Revolinski S., Huang A.M., Gibble A. (2018) Rapid Diagnostics in Infection Prevention. In: Bearman G., Munoz-Price S., Morgan D., Murthy R. (eds) Infection Prevention. Springer, Cham.
