Robert
To clarify: Microbiology are responsible for monitoring any outbreak of infection within the hospital as well as forming a policy for the management of infection. The Infection Control Team, which comprises of Microbiology and Nursing, then carry out the policy.
However, it is the Infection Control Nurses who are responsible for monitoring the patients and ward areas to ensure compliance with the policy (eg hand washing etc.). It is this area of responsibilty that I was referring to and these nurses are part of the nursing directorate and not clinical support.
The Clinical Scientists in the team are responsible for the infection monitoring and eradication for the hospital as a whole but not on a patient basis. They report and are responsible to the head of microbiology.
