Hospital Infection Control Committees: perspective of actions of the Regional Council of Nursing

Abstract

Objective - Characterize the Commission for the Control of Hospital Infections (CCHI) in hospitals by means of the analysis of inspection reports of the Regional Council of Nursing (Coren-SP); obtain subsidies to propose improvements in CCHI nursing activities and improve inspection actions. Method: Descriptive and exploratory cross-sectional study by consulting inspection reports from September 2012 to February 2017. Results: Reports from all hospitals in the state of São Paulo were evaluated (n=838). Of these, 778 hospitals (92.84%) had CCHI, but in 318 (40.87%), nurses were not exclusive, carrying out managerial or assistance actions while acting in the CCHI, not complying with current legislation. Of the 60 institutions that didn’t have CCHI, 51 (85.0%) were small-sized (≥50 beds). Conclusion: The lack of compliance with legal requirements in human resources suggests that the healthcare-associated infection (HCI) prevention structure is still deficient in many hospitals in the state of São Paulo, which may lead to failures in the effective implementation of prevention measures. Audits and inspections, such as those conducted by Coren-SP, play an important role and may become part of a broader governmental strategy to achieve improvements in health services.