On the fleeting canvas of time, having been in the costume of this physical body and in this ephemeral & illusory world, there ought to be some reason to live & breathe for …….. at least in the professional capacity !!

On behalf of the Organizing Committee of the XVIII HISICON, it gives us boundless joy & immense pleasure while extending a warm welcome to each one of you, to the XVIII Annual Conference of the Hospital Infection Society- India, slated for 5th to 8th Feb 2025. Hospital Infection Society-India, Lucknow Chapter leaps up & has risen to the occasion to host the prestigious HISICON, at the equally praiseworthy medical footprint, Sanjay Gandhi Postgraduate Institute of Medical Sciences, in the state capital of Uttar Pradesh - Lucknow !

"Cognise, Converse, Create, Consolidate & Catapult"

As we gather today, we recognize the critical role that infection prevention & control plays in ensuring the safety & well-being of patients, healthcare workers, and communities worldwide. This conference brings together experts & thought leaders to share cutting-edge research, best practices, and innovative solutions to tackle the complex challenges of healthcare associated infections. Spanning across few days, we will explore topics ranging from antimicrobial stewardship to advanced disinfection technologies, and from policy development to implementation strategies. We aim to align with what HISI stands for and what HISICON will intend to achieve.

Apriori, we need to understand our collective awareness which is prevalent vis-a-vis attitude, knowledge & skill set towards HCAI. That too, in-tandem, with the challenges which we are face to face with, as on date. It will also help us understand where we are & what are the amenable barriers to be overcome ! That's what, conversation & deliberations throughout the conference will lay open, before the delegates & the faculty and every healthcare professional interested in IPC & AMSP ! HISICON will try to create indelible ways and means to face & overcome challenges in Indian setting at different levels of care, in IPC & AMSP including suggested policy, protocols, procedural changes if any, and creating new ideas, for feed forward.

Team HISICON will consolidate all the information that will be made available as rightful evidence of the past as applicable to us, in India. It will help us amalgamate the deliberations and their outcome brewed out during the conference, with time tested & existing ones; thus paving the way for creation of evidence based practice towards IPC & AMSP, for upcoming years. The 18th HISICON will provide a unique forum for exchange of knowledge, experience & the skill set in the prevention of Healthcare Associated Infections (HCAIs) and addressing the antimicrobial resistance (AMR) challenge, in India. The recent COVID-19 pandemic has enforced the critical importance, of both collaboration as well as innovation, in this domain. Each & every health care facility has reviewed the fundamental tenets of infection prevention & control (HIPC) and rationally modified their strategy to maximize effective outcome even in resource limited facilities. Amidst ever evolving and challenging landscape of patient care and infection prevention & control, the need to share knowledge and experience gained, becomes inevitable.

The conference aims to create a collaborative environment, where healthcare professionals from different specialties and super-specialties would work collectively to address the burden of HCAIs & AMR. The conference would explore a wide array of relevant topics including environmental surveillance, diagnostic and clinical challenges for IPC and their implementation besides innovations and recent updates. The scientific program features keynote address, plenary sessions, symposium, free paper sessions, per boards and lightening papers, meet-the-experts; resolving conflicts, encouraging debate & deliberations amongst the delegates & faculty, with conclusive sessions laying down the path ahead, with clarity, catering to different types & subtypes of healthcare facilities & set-ups and divergent professional colleagues working towards achieving the same goal!

Hospital Infection Society-India: The Torch Bearer

It is an association of healthcare professionals with a special interest in the prevention and control of healthcare associated infections (HCAI) in India. Established by stalwarts and was registered in 1992. The organization is three decades old in the field, serving the nation and humanity. HISI has been invited by Govt. of India and State government and quasi government institutions and authorities, reputed organizations like WHO, as a resource partner in policy and strategy buildup and implementation of protocols in Prevention and Control of Infections and Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) especially in healthcare facilities from general practitioner to tertiary care hospital and stand-alone facilities in India. It has a Journal by the name of Journal of Patient Safety and Infection Control (JPSIC), published by Wolters Kluwer. HISI's National Conference (HISICON) is organised every year in different pockets of the country, so as to be in tune with loco-regional needs.

Sanjay Gandhi Post Graduate Institute Of Medical Sciences, Lucknow: Where Excellence is a Habit

"SGPGIMS" was established by an Act of Legislation, Uttar Pradesh, India in 1983, to create a centre of excellence for providing medical care, education and research of highest order. It is chartered to function as university under State Act. The institute aims to provide advance specialised medical care such as is available only at few centres in the country and nowhere else in the state. The institute is situated in a 550 acres (2.2 square kilometres) campus at Raebareli Road, 15 km from the main city, Lucknow & is located about 500 km east of New Delhi and is the capital of Uttar Pradesh.

SGPGIMS is fully equipped for Renal sciences, Neurosciences, Cardiac sciences, Gastroenterology, Endocrinology, Genetics and Immunology. Subsequent inclusions were Haematology, Critical Care Medicine. In addition, there exists department of Pathology, Microbiology, Radio Diagnosis, Nuclear Medicine, Radiotherapy, Anaesthesiology & Transfusion Medicine to provide necessary support to all the specialties. New specialties such as Hospital Administration, Plastic Surgery, Paediatric Surgery, Pulmonary Medicine, Reproductive and Maternal Health and Molecular Biology have also come up. Apex Trauma Centre, Emergency Medicine & Renal Transplant Centre, Centre for Liver Transplant & Hepato-biliary Diseases and Advance Diabetic Centre, are the latest additions.

Lucknow Beacons You ……..

Lucknow is a city synonymous with the Nawabi Culture. The imperialistic splendour and magnificence of the Nawabi Era has been glorified and eulogized down the ages by writers, poets and historians alike. At the same time its mystical elegance and amorous ethos has caught the fascination of many, world over. Known for its Adab and Tehzeeb (cultural refinement), Lucknow is also associated with its legendary hospitality, leisurely moods of life, fabled edifices steeped in history, world renowned cuisine and exquisite Sham-e-Avadh. Tremors of time have not effaced Lucknow of its cultural heritage and traditions, which once contributed in creating the city incomparable, in its times

Modern Lucknow, spread evenly on both sides of river Gomti, is a perfect blend of the ancient with the modern, as many glitzy shopping arcades coexist with the old monuments. The greatest attraction of Lucknow, where the past jostles with the present & its unique ability to achieve harmony amidst disorder and to assimilate the new into the old. Today, Lucknow is a vibrant city that is witnessing an economic boom and is among the top seven fastest growing non-major-metropolitan cities of India.

We hope nay, we believe, HISICON, on concluding note, will seek research avenues, will search & explore collaboration avenues; with each other or, to form task groups to carry & monitor the way forward; to achieve our objectives and to communicate & disseminate for largesse, in India as well as to the next HISICON.

Thank you for joining us in this Magnum Opus. Together, let's work towards a safer, healthier legacy for future generations, which will come and will audit our actions ……………

"Education is not the filling pail, but the lighting of a fire."

Team HISICON
SGPGIMS, Lucknow