Infection Control and Governance
Infection Prevention and Control
The Health and Social Care Act 2008, the Code of Practice on the Prevention and Control of Infections and Related Guidance (DH, 2010), sets out the clear responsibilities for all organisations in relation to the prevention and control of healthcare-associated infections (HCAIs).
All our policies reflect national guidance and are reviewed every two years.
Infection prevention is an integral part of patient-centred care, and preventing healthcare-associated infections is a high priority for all our staff.
All staff are trained to work in a safe, clean and professional manner. We place great importance in reducing the risk of infection for patients, visitors and our staff and aim, through our services, to support care in the community given by both carers and family members.
We provide infection prevention in primary care settings where NHS healthcare is provided or commissioned, for example in phlebotomy clinics held in GP surgeries.
As a patient or member of the public, it’s important to make sure you’re aware of information that is available to you and how this can help you to prevention infection and report to us, if you have any concerns.
What do we do?
Our Infection Prevention and Control Clinical Lead supports surveillance of healthcare-associated infections, teaching, monitoring standards and auditing.
The Clinical Lead Nurse does monthly audits of hand hygiene, clinical-practice audits and cleanliness audits alongside their everyday work.
We provide support and advice though:
Infection prevention and control audits
Policies
Managing outbreaks of infection
Monitoring and surveillance
Education and teaching in clinical practice
Specialist advice and knowledge
Study days
How we measure our performance
The Infection Prevention Team audits and evaluates clinical practice by undertaking regular clinical audits with feedback reports, actions, progress and compliance monitoring.
The audits review patient care to ensure best practices are taking place. When necessary, actions are identified to improve practice and these actions are monitored and reported to the Board of Directors.
By using your feedback from our patient surveys and the Friends & Family Test, we can assess the impact of infection prevention.
How we report our performance
The Board monitors infection prevention through the bi-monthly Quality and Safety Board Report. The quality measurement is reported in the Board Report under clinical outcomes and reported in the Annual Quality Account Report published on the website.
The Annual Infection Prevention Report reviews the annual programme and reports on all safety and quality outcomes for infection prevention and control. Click on the document below to read the latest report.