Event highlights
Health-care-associated infections: a persistent patient safety challenge
Health-care-associated infections (HAIs) remain one of the most persistent challenges to patient safety worldwide. These infections not only lead to increased illness and death but also place a significant burden on health systems and resources. Strengthening infection prevention and control (IPC) practices is essential to reducing HAIs and ensuring safer, high-quality care. Across Europe , countries are taking proactive steps to address this issue, and international collaboration plays a vital role in accelerating progress.
Making a difference: Romania’s National Recovery and Resilience Plan
As part of the country’s National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP) project, the Ministry of Health, working closely with WHO/Europe, through its Office on Quality of Care and Patient Safety in Athens, Greece, and the WHO Country Office in Romania, launched the Exchange Collaboration Initiative for Infection Prevention and Control Practices. This programme aims to facilitate structured exchanges between Romanian and French hospitals to strengthen IPC protocols and build lasting partnerships.
One of the first hospitals to join the initiative is the Bucharest University Emergency Hospital (SUUB), which partnered with Hôpital Saint-Louis in Paris, which is a part of the Assistance Publique-Hôpitaux de Paris (AP-HP). The collaboration began with a visit supported by the Department of International Affairs of AP-HP from the French delegation in April 2024 and continued with 2 reciprocal visits in October 2025.
Dr Jean-Elie Malkin, advisor to the Romanian Ministry of Health and initiator of the programme, highlighted the deeper value of the collaboration. “This exchange is not just about technical knowledge; it's about building trust, understanding and a shared commitment to safer health-care environments. The insights gained here will directly inform our national efforts to reduce health-care-associated infections.”
First exchange visit: hospital-wide IPC practices
From 29 September to 3 October 2025, a team from SUUB traveled to Paris for an intensive exchange hosted by the ESPRI team (Equipe de Surveillance et Prévention des Risques Infectieux) at Hôpital Saint-Louis. The visit focused on hospital-wide IPC strategies, with Romanian professionals observing practices in high-risk areas, such as the intensive care, transplant, hematology and burn units. They also joined multidisciplinary meetings to see how IPC experts contribute to clinical decision-making.
Key topics discussed included:
- surveillance of HAIs
- hand hygiene policies
- cleaning and disinfection procedures
- screening and isolation of high-risk patients
- strengthening collaboration across specialties for rapid IPC implementation
- innovation and research in the field of IPC.
The Romanian delegation identified priority areas for analysis and improvement within their own institution, in preparation for a follow-up visit by the French team planned for early 2026.
Dr Diana Iacob, Infectious Diseases Specialist at SUUB, part of the Romanian team, reflected on the impact of the visit. “These exchanges have provided us the opportunity to analyze and improve an extensive number of current IPC protocols, building and adapting the French practices to our national requirements. The collaboration with ESPRI has been invaluable, and we are determined to translate these lessons into lasting improvements at SUUB.”
Second exchange visit: IPC in endoscopy
The second phase of the exchange took place just days later, from 6 to 9 October, when Romanian infectious diseases specialists and endoscopy nurses returned to Paris. This time, the focus was on IPC in endoscopy – a critical area for patient safety.
The programme included:
- presentations on France’s regulatory framework;
- live demonstrations of microbiological sampling;
- site visits to digestive, bronchial and urinary endoscopy units; and
- discussions on equipment selection, workflow optimization and strict adherence to cleaning and disinfection protocols.
Strengthening health care through collaboration: the Romania-France experience
This partnership between Romania and France is more than a technical exchange – it’s a powerful example of how international collaboration can lead to safer, stronger health-care systems for everyone.
Dr Guillaume Mellon, Head of ESPRI at Hôpital Saint-Louis, emphasized the importance of mutual learning. “The ESPRI team is deeply committed to supporting our Romanian colleagues in strengthening IPC practices. Through structured knowledge exchange and hands-on collaboration, we are helping to build sustainable improvements that will benefit patients and health-care workers alike.”
WHO technical support
Throughout the 2 visits, technical guidance and support were provided by experts from the WHO Office on Quality of Care and Patient Safety in Athens, Greece, and WHO Country Office in Romania. This support forms part of the technical assistance offered by WHO to the Romanian Ministry of Health for the implementation of the NRRP.
More broadly, WHO/Europe, through its Office on Quality of Care and Patient Safety in Athens, Greece, supports countries across the WHO European Region in strengthening IPC through technical guidance, capacity-building and implementation support. Its contribution to Romania’s collaboration highlights WHO’s ongoing commitment to improving IPC standards and promoting safer care in health facilities.
Next steps
Now back in Bucharest, the Romanian teams are working on a hospital-wide improvement plan, including targeted changes in the endoscopy unit. A follow-up visit by the French team is scheduled to support implementation and assess progress.