Bacteraemia

Bacteraemia occurs when bacteria (bugs) enter the bloodstream. This can lead to infections in other parts of the body, including life-threatening sepsis. Hospital infection prevention measures, such as hand washing and cleaning, aim to prevent patients from contracting bacteria.

The Welsh Government requires all health boards in Wales to monitor four bacteria that cause bacteraemia, through surveillance. The HARP programme carries out this surveillance work on behalf of the Welsh Government and the NHS in Wales. Laboratories from Anglesey to Monmouth are presenting test results on patient samples. The HARP program is able to access the test results, analyse them and use them to generate data dashboards of bacteraemia trends.

The HARP programme works with Welsh health boards to reduce the risk of patients developing bacteraemia in hospitals and other healthcare settings.