Pre‐procedure

ActionRationale

1. 1.Show
   Identify the most suitable room available for protective isolation, taking into account the risk to the patient, the patient's other nursing needs and other demands on the available single rooms.
   To ensure the best balance between minimizing the risk of infection, maintaining the safety and comfort of the isolated patient, and the need for single rooms for other purposes. E

Procedure

1. 2.Show
   Remove all non‐essential furniture and equipment from the room. The remaining furniture should be easy to clean. Ensure that the room is stocked with any equipment required for patient care and sufficient numbers of any disposable items that will be required.
   To ensure the availability of everything required for patient care while minimizing the amount of cleaning required and the amount of traffic of people and equipment into and out of the room. E
2. 3.Show
   Ensure that all personal protective equipment (PPE) required is available outside the room. Wall‐mounted dispensers offer the best use of space and ease of use but, if necessary, set up a trolley outside the door for PPE and an alcohol‐based handrub. Ensure that these arrangements do not cause an obstruction or other hazard.
   To have PPE readily available when required. E
3. 4.Show
   Ensure that the room is thoroughly cleaned before the patient is admitted.
   Effective cleaning will remove infectious agents that may pose a risk to the patient (NPSA [88], C).
4. 5.Show
   Introduce yourself to the patient, explain the reason for isolation and the precise precautions, and provide relevant patient information material where available. Allow the patient to ask questions and ask for a member of the infection prevention and control team to visit the patient if ward staff cannot answer all questions to the patient's satisfaction. The patient's family and other visitors may require an explanation but any explanations given must respect patient confidentiality.
   Patients and their visitors may be more compliant if they understand the reasons for isolation, and the patient's anxiety may be reduced if they have as much information as possible about their condition. E
5. 6.Show
   Fix a suitable notice outside the room where it will be seen by anyone attempting to enter the room. This should indicate the special precautions required while preserving the patient's confidentiality.
   To ensure all staff and visitors are aware of the need for additional infection control precautions. E
6. 7.Show
   Move the patient into the single‐occupancy room.
   To minimize exposure to potentially harmful micro‐organisms (Wigglesworth [127], E).
7. 8.Show
   Ensure that surfaces and furniture are damp‐dusted according to the cleaning schedule using disposable cloths. High‐risk areas should usually be cleaned two or three times per day.
   Damp‐dusting and mopping remove micro‐organisms without distributing them into the air. E

   To meet national cleaning standards for a high‐risk area. E