Making a case for a successful surgical site infection surveillance program

Covid-19 pandemic pressures have left many healthcare organisations globally struggling to cope with huge surgical backlogs. As teams design strategies to rebuild and undertake as many surgical procedures as possible, avoidable surgical site infections (SSIs) must be prevented at all costs.  We know even from before the covid pandemic that SSIs have devastating consequences for surgical patients and their families; and have been highlighting a need for urgency around implementation of robust SSI surveillance programs in all hospitals. With correct implementation, these healthcare acquired infection surveillance programs can bring together multidisciplinary teams (MDT) and equip them with data that can be used to inform and improve clinical practice.  This presentation will draw from the presenter’s experience of setting up a successful SSI surveillance service at a large acute Trust in central London. The human and economic benefits of a successful SSI surveillance program will be explored, together with lessons learnt and recommendations on how to take SSI surveillance forward.

Objectives of presentation

• Stimulate debate on SSI surveillance implementation in resource constrained NHS organisations and the global community
• Promote MDT collaboration as a feasible approach to overcoming barriers linked with increased burden of SSI data collection
• Learn from someone who helped set up a successful SSI surveillance program in the UK