Management of patients with VRE in inpatient areas of acute health care facilities
Containment of VRE in acute inpatient health care facilities requires strict compliance by hospital personnel with infection control measures. Special awareness and education sessions should be provided to all staff.
Notification of key personnel
When the laboratory confirms the isolation of a VRE strain from a patient (infected or colonised), key personnel should be notified immediately to ensure that appropriate contact precautions are initiated promptly. Key personnel include:
> medical practitioner(s) responsible for the care of the patient
> infection control coordinator
> nurse in charge of the ward or unit
> other personnel as may be specified in the facility's VRE guideline or procedure.
Note: If the notification occurs outside the normal working hours of the Infection Prevention and Control Unit a system should be in place to ensure that they are informed as soon as possible on the next working day. In this case the duty nurse manager or equivalent should also be notified.
The organisation’s alert mechanism for VRE should be implemented. Facilities are encouraged to develop a flow chart or protocol for staff to follow, in conjunction with their laboratory services, to facilitate this notification process.