Infection prevention and control

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Infection prevention and control

A staff member using hand gel

Our job is to stop service users and patients getting infections as a result of their care. We make sure that when people do pick up these infections, we learn about why it happened. We use training and education to stop it happening again.

We provide:

Training and education - we make sure staff are up to date with safe working practices, know their responsibilities around infection prevention and control and how it affects their patients or service users

Audit - we monitor aspects of patient care and environmental standards throughout the Trust and areas used by Trust staff

Advice - we are available to help with infection prevention and control issues

Information - we make sure that the Trust's infection control policies are in line with national guidance and best practice. We make information on common infections available for staff, patients and visitors

Outbreak management - if an outbreak occurs we provide daily advice to manage the situation

Incident reporting - we analyse and review why incidents happen. We use what we learn to support training, update our policies and ensure safer practices

Campaigns - we provide support with local and national campaigns such as sepsis awareness, flu, hand hygiene and bare below the elbows

Laura Belshaw - Deputy Director of Nursing, AHPs and Quality. She is also the Board member responsible for infection prevention and control (Director of Infection Prevention and Control)

Penelope Keith - Associate Director Nursing Strategy, is the Deputy Director of Infection Prevention and Control

Annual Report and policies

Read our Infection Prevention and Control Annual Report 2022-23 [pdf] 793KB

View our infection prevention and control policies

How you can help

Diarrhoea and/or vomiting

If you have suffered from diarrhoea and/or vomiting in the last 48 hours please do not visit a ward or attend an appointment. Please contact the department to advise and rearrange any appointments.

Find out more about norovirus and how to stop it spreading on the NHS website.

Hand hygiene

Someone washing their hands at a sink Washing hands is the most important way to prevent infection.

Visitors as well as staff play a key role in supporting our Trust inpatient areas to remain infection free by making sure their hands have been washed with soap and water. Alcohol hand gel is also available in many areas. Visitors should clean their hands on arrival and before leaving inpatient areas.

If you're worried that a member of staff may have forgotten to clean their hands, it's OK to remind them.

Sepsis

Sepsis is a life threatening condition which happens when the body’s response to an infection injures its own tissues and organs. It can lead to death if it is not recognised and treated quickly. Any infection can cause sepsis.

Every year in the UK there are 150,000 cases of sepsis, resulting in a staggering 44,000 deaths.

We want to encourage everyone, every time they come across someone with any type of infection and they appear unwell to think, could it be sepsis? Fast action saves lives.

The symptoms in adults spell out the word 'SEPSIS': Slurred speech or confusion, Extreme shivering or muscle pain, Passing no urine in a day, Severe breathlessness, "I feel like I might die", Skin mottled or discoloured.

The symptoms in babies and children are: breathing very fast, having a 'fit' or convulsion, looking mottled bluish or pale. a rash that does not fade when you press it, being very lethargic or difficult to wake, feeling abnormally cold to touch.

For more information on the condition you can visit nhs.uk/sepsis.

Influenza

Our Executive Medical Director getting her flu jab Flu can be a severe illness, even for people who are fit and well.

The virus can change and the vaccine only protects you for about one season, so you should have a vaccination every year. People at high risk from flu can have the jab at their GP practice.

The Trust also encourages all front line staff to get the flu jab every year, to prevent the spread of infections to our patients and service users.

Find out more about flu on the NHS website.

Find out more about flu and the flu vaccine

Protect yourself from flu, have the flu vaccine (Easy Read)