While there is no case law relating specifically to non-compliance with infection control practices, this article will examine to what extent, if any, current case law could be used to establish whether or not a healthcare professional who had failed to implement to an acceptable standard infection control practices had acted negligently, and as a result caused a patient to develop a healthcare-associated infection.
Barnett v Chelsea and Kensington Hospital Management Committee. [1969] 1 All ER 1068: In: Stauch M, Wheat K, Tingle J. (2002) Sourcebook on medical law (second edition). Cavendish Publishing: London.
2.
Beauchamp TL, Childress JF (2001) Principles of biomedical ethics (fifth edition). Oxford University Press : Oxford.
3.
Bennett D. (2004) Litigating hospital-acquired MRSA as a disease. Journal of PersonalInjury Law3: 197-208.
4.
Bolam v Friern Hospital Management Committee. [ 1957] 2 All ER 118, (1957) 1 WLR 582: Medical negligence: In: Kennedy I, Grubb A. (2000) Medical law (third edition). Butterworths: London.
5.
Cassidy v Ministry of Defence. [1951] 2 KB 343: Medical negligence: In: Kennedy I, Grubb A. (2000) Medical law (third edition). Butterworths: London.
6.
Department of Health. (1998) The path of least resistance. Synopsis by the Standing Medical Advisory Committee Sub-Group on Antimicrobial Resistance. HMSO: London.
7.
Department of Health. (2000a) All hospitals to monitor hospital-acquired infection. See: www.dh.gov.uk/en/Publicationsandstatistics/Pressreleases/DH_4007286 (accessed 15 March 2007).
8.
Department of Health. (2000b) UK antimicrobial resistance strategy and action plan. HMSO: London.
9.
Department of Health. (2003) Winning ways: working together to reduce healthcare-associated infections in England. Report from the chief medical officer. HMSO : London.
10.
Department of Health. (2004a) Towards cleaner hospitals and lower rates of infection: a summary of action . HMSO: London.
11.
Department of Health. (2006) The Health Act 2006: code of practice for the prevention and control of healthcare-associated infections. HMSO: London.
12.
Department of Health. (2006b) Standards for better health. See: www.dh.gov.uk/en/Publicationsandstatistics/Publications/PublicationsPolicyAndGuidance/DH_4086665 (accessed 15 March 2007).
13.
Dimond B. (2002) Legal aspects of nursing (third edition). Pearson Education: Harlow .
14.
Donoghue v Stevenson. [1932] AC 562. Medical negligence: general principles: In Korgaonkr G, Tribe D. ( 1995) Law for nurses. Cavendish Publishing : London.
15.
Harrison S. (2005) How to stay on the right side of the infection control code. Nursing Standard19(38): 14-6.
16.
Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. HMSO: London. See: www.healthandsafety.co.uk/haswa.htm (accessed 13 March 2007).
17.
Health and Safety Executive. (2002) Control of substances hazardous to health regulations: a brief guide to the regulations. What you need to know about control of substances hazardous to health regulations. See: www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/indg136.pdf (accessed 15 March 2007).
18.
Hendrick J. (2004) Law and ethics. Nelson Thornes : Cheltenham.
19.
Horton R. (1995) Hand-washing: the fundamental infection control principle. British Journal of Nursing16: 926-33.
20.
Jacob K. (2004) Accountability and clinical governance in nursing: a critical overview of the topic: In: Tilley S, Watson R. (Eds.). Accountability in nursing and midwifery (second edition). Blackwell Science: Oxford .
21.
Kennedy I., Grubb A. (2000) Medical law (third edition). Butterworths: London.
22.
Korgaonkr G., Tribe D. (1995) Law for nurses. Cavendish Publishing : London.
23.
McHale J., Tingle J. (2001) Law and nursing (second edition). Butterworth Heinemann: Oxford.
24.
Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations. (1999) In: St John Holt A. (2002) Principles of health and safety at work (sixth edition). IOSH Services : Leicestershire.
25.
Montgomery J. (2003) Health care law (second edition). Oxford University Press: Oxford.
26.
Naikoba S., Hayward A. (2001) The effectiveness of interventions aimed at increasing handwashing in healthcare workers: a systematic review. Journal of HospitalInfection47: 173-80.
27.
National Audit Office. (2000) Report by the comptroller and auditor general. The management and control of hospital-acquired infection in acute NHS Trusts in England. The National Audit Office: London.
28.
National Health Service Estates. (2004) A matron's charter: an action plan for cleaner hospitals. HMSO: London.
29.
National Health Service Litigation Authority. ( 2005) Clinical negligence scheme for Trusts: general. Clinical risk management standards. See: http://www.nhsla.com/NR/rdonlyres/E46B5722-2E6A-484C-B9D1213241A148E2/0/NHSLAAcuteStandardsApril2006pilot.doc (accessed 15 March 2007).
30.
National Patient Safety Agency. (2005) cleanyourhands campaign. See: www.npsa.nhs.uk/cleanyourhands/campaign/about (15 March 2007).
31.
Newsom PJ (1993) Ignaz Philipp Semmelweis. Journal of HospitalInfection23: 175-87.
32.
Nursing and Midwifery Council. (2004) The NMC code of professional conduct: standards for conduct, performance and ethics. Nursing and Midwifery Council: London.
33.
Royal College of Nursing. (1998) Guidance for nurses on clinical governance. Royal College of Nursing: London.
34.
Shanmugam K. (2001) Testing the Bolam Test: consequences of recent developments. Singapore Medical Journal43(1): 7-11. See: www.sma.org.sg/sma_news/3310/commentary.pdf (accessed 15 March 2007).
35.
St John Holt A. (2002) Principles of health and safety at work (sixth edition). IOSH Services: Leicestershire.
36.
Stauch M., Wheat K., Tingle J. (2004) Source book on medical law (second edition). Cavendish Publishing: London.
37.
Sykes JB (1984) The concise oxford dictionary of current english (seventh edition). Clarendon Press: Oxford.
38.
Taylor LJ (1978) An evaluation of hand-washing techniques. Nursing Times Jan: 54-5.
39.
Taylor K., Plowman R., Roberts JA (2001) The challenge of hospital-acquired infection. National Audit Office: London.
40.
Tingle J. (2004) The legal accountability of the nurse: In: Tilley S, Watson R. (Ed.). Accountability in nursing and midwifery (second edition). Blackwell Science: Oxford.
41.
Walsh M. (2000) Nursing frontiers: accountability and the boundaries of care. Butterworth Heinemann: Oxford.
42.
Wilsher v Essex AHA [1988] 1 All ER 871, [1988] AC 1074 (HL): In: Kennedy I, Grubb A. (2000) Medical law (third edition). Butterworths: London.
43.
Wilkinson J., McDowall JP (2003) Harm reduction in context: the scope of nursing practice: In: Milligan F, Robinson K. (Ed.). Limiting harm in health care. Blackwell Science: Oxford .