the 72 bulletin
The Cardiac Surgical Site Infection (SSI) Network Meeting Christina Bannister, Patient Lead – Nursing & AHP Committee
W
ith my role as patient lead on the Nursing & AHP committee I attended the Bi-Annual Cardiac SSI Network Meeting. The London-based meetings offer roundtable discussions of adult and paediatric cardiac SSI, and presentations are a mix of case-studies, innovation, trends and SSI surveillance topics. The Cardiac SSI Network Aims are: To create, through collaboration, a central online resource focused on cardiac SSI reduction and dedicated to sharing frontline examples of improving patient experience, safety and outcomes; l
To promote cardiac services as a leading discipline for innovation and spread of initiatives to reduce SSI; l
To share learning from frontline examples, encouraging efficient and effective surveillance in SSI reduction; l
To develop a multidisciplinary network and collaborative approach for adult and paediatric cardiac surgical and cardiology invasive devices to reduce the incidence of infection. l
The group was set up in 2013 with Melissa Rochon, Royal Brompton & Harefield NHS Foundation Trust; Philippa Clark, Royal Papworth Hospital NHS Foundation Trust and Martin Still, Brighton & Sussex University Hospitals NHS Trust and has developed over the years to include nurses and AHP’s from both adult and paediatric backgrounds from across UK centres. Members of the group have presented at the SCTS annual meeting and have won, on differing occasions, both the best presentation award (Preliminary Findings: Targeting CABG patients at high risk of
surgical site infection in 2015) and the best poster award (Does the Photo at Discharge (PaD) Reduce Readmissions for Surgical Site Infections? Learning From Two Large Cardiothoracic Centres in 2016). In addition to presenting at the SCTS annual meeting, members have presented at EACTS and also a myriad of infection prevention conferences across the UK. The co-founders have been Awarded Best Abstract, Wounds UK Excellence Award, 2017 for their paper entitled ‘That Doesn’t Need Another Swab!’: Protecting Surgical Wounds From Routine and Ritualised MC&S Sampling; and a Patient Safety Award 2017 for Best Public Product /Innovation – the BHIS bra, support wear for females following cardiac surgery as well as a Patient Safety Award 2017 and OneTogether gold medal 2017 for the Photo at Discharge. The SSI Network website includes videos for patients and professionals, which can be requested to be placed on individual Trust’s websites. In 2018, NICE endorsed the
video series, which is also used in the patient section of the SCTS/ BUPA website. There are national surveys, and both adult CABG and paediatric cardiac SSI rates; and useful links to other websites. There is an online forum where members can pose queries to others as well as projects to reduce SSI, such as University Hospitals Bristol’s work to reduce SSI with negative pressure wound therapy pathway, or Guy’s and St Thomas’ multidisciplinary team approach to reducing and maintaining low rates. The Cardiac SSI Network actively supports the SCTS CIRN SSI project and is sponsoring SCTS Nursing & AHP memberships for five network members to take part. The next Cardiac SSI meeting was hosted by St Bartholomew’s Hospital in December. It was a great opportunity for sharing projects, networking as well as looking towards further innovations and working together in 2019. n