Study says surgical infections can cost 75 staff hours and delay three operations

Research presented in Glasgow says a single surgical site infection can consume up to 75 hours of staff time and tie up capacity equal to two to three surgical procedures. The findings highlight how preventable infections can worsen waiting lists, strain hospital teams and reduce operating room availability.

Why it matters: - Surgical site infections can create a hidden operational cost for hospitals, not just a clinical one. - Each infection may consume 45 to 75 additional staff hours and use capacity equivalent to about two to three new operations. - Preventing infections could help reduce waiting lists, free beds and protect already strained healthcare teams.

What happened: - Research presented at the International Nursing Research Conference 2026 in Glasgow, Scotland examined the workforce and surgical-capacity burden of preventable surgical site infections. - The abstract was titled “The Infection Tax: The Hidden Workforce and Surgical Capacity Burden of Surgical Site Infections.” - Ondine Biomedical presented the research.

The details: - The analysis says surgical site infections can trigger extended hospital stays, follow-up appointments, readmissions and longer care pathways. - Those downstream demands reduce staff time, beds and operating capacity for other patients. - The cumulative effect of preventable infections can add pressure to surgical waiting lists, bed availability, workforce staffing and healthcare costs. - A 2025 Getting It Right First Time report found wide variation in preoperative infection-prevention practices across hospitals and surgical specialties in England. - The GIRFT survey covered 39 preoperative-assessment services. - 11 of those services said they did not provide preoperative decolonisation washes to patients who had not tested positive for MRSA or MSSA. - 28 services did provide those washes. - GIRFT also found variation in how long decolonisation treatments and washes were used before elective surgery. - NICE recommends that patients bathe or shower with soap either the day before or the day of surgery. - NICE also recommends considering nasal decolonisation with a chlorhexidine body wash before procedures where Staphylococcus aureus is likely to cause a surgical site infection, depending on procedure type and patient risk factors. - The research links one prevention focus to the nasal cavity, where Staphylococcus aureus is a major reservoir. - Ondine Biomedical says its Steriwave nasal photodisinfection technology is designed to rapidly reduce pathogens in the nasal cavity in minutes and complement screening, decolonisation, skin preparation, antimicrobial prophylaxis and other perioperative protocols without generating resistance. - Ondine Biomedical says the technology targets a broad spectrum of pathogens, including antibiotic-resistant bacteria, and is intended to reduce healthcare-associated infections. - Ondine Biomedical says the technology is not FDA approved and is not commercially available for sale in the United States. - In the United States, the technology is limited by federal law to investigational use only. - More information is available on Ondine Biomedical's website.

Between the lines: - The study frames infection prevention as both a patient-safety issue and a capacity-management strategy. - The wide variation in decolonisation practices suggests hospitals may not be using a consistent approach to reduce avoidable infections. - The comments from Ondine Biomedical position prevention technology as a way to protect workforce time and operating-room throughput as well as clinical outcomes.

What's next: - Hospitals and health systems may use the findings to review preoperative infection-prevention protocols. - The research adds pressure for more consistent use of decolonisation and other preventive measures. - Continued attention to non-antibiotic infection-prevention tools could shape future perioperative practice and capacity planning.

The bottom line: - A single surgical site infection can ripple far beyond one patient, consuming staff time and surgical capacity that hospitals can ill afford to lose.