Infection surveillance scheme: collaborative working practices.

This article describes the development of the Nosocomial infection National Surveillance Scheme. Doctors and nurses are expected to collaborate and work together in order to improve patient care. Guidelines on infection control in hospitals include the need for infection control teams to carry out surveillance and feed back the results to doctors so that they can make the necessary changes. The relationship between doctors and nurses has long been debated, and this could hinder the success of doctors cooperating and sharing ownership of the scheme. Interpersonal skills, group dynamics, organizational controls and professional standards are discussed.