Infection Prevention Control

    • Infection Control Annual Statement

    • Purpose

    • This annual statement will be generated each year in November 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 summarises:

    • 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 Argyll House Surgery has 1 Lead for Infection Prevention and Control: Nichola Dee(Lead Nurse)

    • The IPC Lead is supported by Rosie Thebe has attended an IPC Lead training course in 2023 and keeps updated on infection prevention practice.

    •  

    • 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. All significant events are reviewed in monthly meetings 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 Chris Wheeler in October 2023

    • As a result of the audit, the following things have been changed at Argyll House Surgery:

    • Policies and Processes have been put in place and reviewed.

    • Staff have completed infection control training relevant to their role.

    • Changes have been undertaken to improve surgery infrastructure.

    •  

    • An audit on Minor Surgery was undertaken by Chris Wheeler in October 2023

    • No infections were reported for patients who had had minor surgery at the Argyll House Surgery

    •  

    • An audit on hand washing was undertaken in October 2023.  This was discussed at the Practice Clinical Meeting.

    • The Argyll House Surgery plan to undertake the following audits in 2024

    •  

    • Annual Infection Prevention and Control audit

    • Minor Surgery outcomes audit

    • Domestic Cleaning 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/reviewed 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 that all of our 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). We take part in the National Immunisation campaigns for patients and offer vaccinations in house and via home visits to our patient population.

    • Curtains: The NHS Cleaning Specifications state the curtains should be cleaned or if using disposable curtains, replaced every 6 months. To this effect we use disposable curtains and ensure they are changed every 6 months. The window blinds are very low risk and therefore do not require a particular cleaning regime other than regular vacuuming to prevent build-up of dust. The modesty curtains although handled by clinicians are never handled by patients and clinicians have been reminded to always remove gloves and clean hands after an examination and before touching the curtains. All curtains are regularly reviewed and changed if visibly soiled.

    • Hand washing sinks: The practice has clinical hand washing sinks in every room for staff to use. Some of our sinks do not meet the latest standards for sinks but we have removed plugs, covered overflows and reminded staff to turn off taps that are not ‘hands free’ with paper towels to keep patients safe. We have also replaced our liquid soap with wall mounted soap dispensers to ensure cleanliness.

    •  

    • Training

    • All our staff receive annual training in infection prevention and control.

    •  

    • Policies

    • All Infection Prevention and Control related policies are in date for this year.

    • The following policies are currently being updated:

    •  

    • Infection Prevention Control Policy

    •  

    • Policies relating to Infection Prevention and Control are available to all staff and are reviewed and updated annually.   Infection Control policies are circulated amongst staff for reading and 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

    • 11.12.2023

    •  

    • Responsibility for Review

    • The Infection Prevention and Control Lead and the Operations Manager are responsible for reviewing and producing the Annual Statement.

    • Rosie Thebe

    • Operations Manager

    • For and on behalf of the Argyll House Surgery

    •  

    •  



 
Call 111 when you need medical help fast but it’s not a 999 emergencyNHS ChoicesThis site is brought to you by My Surgery Website