Infection Control
Purpose
This annual statement will be generated each year in February in accordance with the requirements of The Health and Social Care Act 2008 Code of Practice on the prevention and control of infections and related guidance. It details:
- Any infection transmission incidents and any action taken (these will have been reported in accordance with our Significant Event procedure)
- Details of any infection control audits undertaken and actions undertaken
- Details of any risk assessments undertaken for prevention and control of infection
- Details of staff training
- Any review and update of policies, procedures and guidelines
Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) Lead
The Upton Group Practice Lead for Infection Prevention and Control is:
- Helen Brooks (Practice Nurse)
- The IPC lead is supported by Dr G Annett (Senior Partner)
Infection transmission incidents (Significant Events)
Significant events (which may involve examples of good practice as well as challenging events) are investigated in detail to see what can be learnt and to indicate changes that might lead to future improvements. Significant events are reviewed monthly at Practice and Clinical meetings with the Clinical and management staff and learning is cascaded to all relevant staff.
In the past year there have been no significant events raised that related to infection control.
Infection Prevention Audit and Actions
The Annual Infection Prevention and Control audit was completed by Peta Murphy – Practice Manager- and Ciara Ramsden – Wirral Community Trust Infection Prevention and Control Nurse – on 24 November 2022.
As a result of the audit the following things have been changed in Upton Group Practice:-
- Soap dispensers in patient toilets replaced.
- Wipes placed with Baby changing unit in patient toilets.
- Damaged end section of Treatment room couch replaced.
- Metal trolleys replaced with plastic ones.
- Marked ceiling tiles in the waiting room to be replaced.
- We are beginning a programme of replacement of cupboards and shelving in the clinical rooms.
- We have converted an alcove into a cupboard as storage for medical supplies.
Audits on hand washing were undertaken in June, September, October and November 2022
An audit of the vaccine ordering, transportation and storage was undertaken in November 2022.
Domestic cleaning audits are undertaken on a monthly basis by our Cleaning company – Vanguard – and the results are shared with the practice. Our scores for these are consistently at 95% or above.
Upton Group Practice plans to undertake the following audits in 2023/2024:
- Annual Infection Prevention and Control audit
- Vaccine ordering, transportation and storage audit
- Hand hygiene audit
Risk Assessments
Risk assessments are carried out so that best practice can be established and then followed. In the last year the following risk assessments were carried out / reviewed:
Legionella (Water) Risk Assessment: The practice has conducted its water safety risk assessment to ensure that the water supply does not pose a risk to patients, visitors or staff.
Immunisation: As a practice we ensure all staff are up to date with their Hepatitis B immunisations and offered any occupational health vaccinations applicable to their role (i.e. MMR, Seasonal Flu, Covid-19). We take part in the National Immunisation campaigns for patients and offer vaccinations in house and via home visits to our patient population.
Privacy Curtains: The NHS Cleaning Specifications state the curtains should be cleaned or if using disposable privacy curtains, replaced every 6 months. To this effect we use disposable privacy curtains and ensure they are changed every 6 months. All curtains are regularly reviewed and changed if visibly soiled.
Training
All staff receive annual online training in infection prevention and control.
Hand Hygiene training and audit is carried out annually by our Lead Nurse.
Policies
All Infection Prevention and Control related policies are in date for this year.
Policies relating to Infection Prevention and Control are available to all staff and are reviewed and updated annually. All are amended on an on-going basis as current advice, guidance and legislation changes. Infection Control policies are circulated to staff for reading and are discussed at meetings on an annual basis.
Responsibility
It is the responsibility of each individual to be familiar with this Statement and their roles and responsibilities under this.
Review date
February 2024
Responsibility for Review
The Infection Prevention and Control Nurse and the Practice Manager are responsible for reviewing and producing the Annual Statement.
For and on behalf of Upton Group Practice
Helen Brooks
Helen Brooks
Gina Annett
Dr Gina Annett
February 2023
