[What hygienic criteria should apply to community care? The risk of infection is increasing when more and more seriously ill patients are treated outside hospital].

In Sweden, the provision of health care (i.e. non-physician care) of elderly residents in community housing and care facilities has been the statutory responsibility of local authorities since 1992. The Health and Medical Services Act stipulates that such care should be of good quality, As infection control is one aspect of good quality, in 1997 the Dept. of Infection Control at University Hospital, Uppsala, and the six municipalities of the County of Uppsala that are responsible for the care of a total of 4,400 elderly people, launched a joint enterprise to provide the care required by the Act. The program includes the education of staff in the basic concepts of infection control/recruitment of link surses and surveillance of risk factors, in order to minimise nosocomial infections in nursing homes for the elderly.