An invitation has been issued to participate in a voluntary national survey of healthcare-associated infections and antibiotic use in long-term care facilities (HALT) in Ireland, which will take place in May 2016. This forms part of a European-wide survey coordinated by the European Centre for Disease Prevention & Control. In Ireland, the HALT survey will be coordinated by the Health Protection Surveillance Centre (HPSC) and overseen by a multi-disciplinary steering group under the auspices of the Royal College of Physicians in Ireland. This will be the fourth HALT survey to take place in Ireland. There was excellent participation from Irish long-term care facilities in previous HALT surveys in 2010 (69 facilities), 2011 (108 facilities) and the most recent HALT survey in 2013, with 190 facilities and 9,318 residents surveyed. It is hoped to recruit even more Irish long-term care facilities to participate in HALT 2016. HALT is open to all types of Irish long-term care facilities, whether owned by HSE, private healthcare providers or voluntary organisations. The survey will collect information on: healthcare-associated infections (HCAI), antibiotic use, practices and resources to support infection prevention and control and antibiotic resistance.
The information will be collected in participating long-term care facilities by trained staff on one day in May 2016 and then submitted for analysis using a software programme provided by HPSC. Training for staff will be provided at a number of regional training days to be held during April.
Prior HALT participants have reported a range of benefits including: improved awareness of infection prevention and control and antimicrobial stewardship practices, demonstrating local commitment to resident safety and using the HALT data to guide local quality improvement initiatives.
Further details on the HALT survey, the invitation letter and facility registration form can be downloaded from the HPSC website.
The deadline for registration for HALT 2016 will be Friday February 19th.
Any questions/queries can be directed to HALT@hpsc.ie
Dr Karen Burns, HPSC & HALT 2016 National Coordinator on behalf of the HALT 2016 National Steering Group
