Infection Control in Care Homes

Gompels HealthCare Ltd is committed to helping Care Homes achieve the highest standards in the Industry and making it easier to comply with the increasing amounts of legislation.

New Legislation

The Code of Practice for the Prevention and Control of Health Care Associated Infections (HCAI) for the Private and Voluntary Health Care Sector and Care Homes is coming into force during 2007.

Comprehensive guide

With new initiatives on the prevention and control of infection in Care Homes we have put together a work pack based on the "Infection Control Guidance for Care Homes" document produced in June 2006 by the Department of Health, to help Care Home Managers and Matrons be ahead of the forthcoming implementation.

Summary of the Care Home's responsibilities

The Care Home should produce a written policy that details the roles and responsibilities of the staff during an outbreak of communicable disease or episode of infection.

The Care Home should have in place:

• Suitable arrangements and procedures for control of infection, as part of the health and safety requirements.
• 24 hour access to advice on infection prevention and control.
• Annual report stating the systems in place for the prevention and control of infection and how they are being monitored.
• Information on incidents and outbreaks of infection, risk assessment, training and education of staff, infection control audit and actions taken to rectify problems.
• Infection Control Policies and Procedures in place, readily available, understood and used within the home by all members of staff.

The 10-minute starter pack for a busy Matron/Manager/Home Owner to infection control

The guide below has been devised to help you implement a strategy and get top marks in the government's self-assessment tool for Care homes.

Download the Department of Health's self-assessment tool.

The guide contains links to the documents you will need to get started in implementing high standards of infection control in your Care Home. We have provided you with a starting point that you will be able to build on and improve within your own environment and staff.

This guide is based on obtaining top marks in the self-assessment tool and therefore follows the 7 challenges set within it.

CHALLENGE 1: Engage staff throughout the care home to promote and secure the implementation of best practice in the prevention and control of infection.

 

To get top marks, you must:	Step by step guide
Prepare regular reports on infection control and prevention	An example of an annual report is given on pages 2 and 3 of 04102552.pdf. Open document and amend as appropriate for your Care Home. Print and disseminate to top of organisation (director, owner, etc.)
Appoint lead nurse/infection control nurse	Print and complete the poster "contact numbers.doc" Use the template "job description.doc" for ideas regarding the objectives set in the context of the job description and appraisals for the infection control lead nurse
Provide training on infection control to the lead nurse/infection control manager	Send on infection control courses. Print and suggest reading the infection control guidance for Care Homes document) to the lead nurse.
Make sure that the responsibility for infection control is defined and understood throughout the home	Display the poster "contact numbers.doc" so that all staff are aware of the responsibilities and who to turn to in case of problems.
Make all staff including owner aware of local arrangements for access to 24-hour infection control advice	Display poster "contact numbers.doc" stating the 24 hour telephone number

CHALLENGE 2: Review the service user journey in order to reduce the risk of transmission of infection

 

To get top marks, you must:	Step by step guide
Provide local guidance, based on national guidance, on the transfer of service users in and out of the organisation	Details on pages 46 to 49 of the "infection control guidance for Care Homes" document. Check the DOH website (http://www.dh.gov.uk ) at regular intervals for updates and changes to the national guidance.
Provide written guidance specifying the factors that determine if a service user is confirmed or suspected with an infective condition	Covered in pages 46 to 49 of the "infection control guidance for Care Homes" document.
Make staff aware of need to report signs and symptoms of infection	Provide training to all staff as part of induction on infection control and ongoing training. Use the powerpoint presentation "how are infections spread.ppt" as a starting point on infection Display the list of diseases and notifiable diseases clearly and keep accessible to all. Print pages 55, 57 to 64 from the "infection control guidance for Care Homes" document
Provide a documented treatment pathway/care plan when a service user is confirmed or suspected with an infective condition including seeking advice from HPA or infection control nurse and a risk assessment as to whether or not to isolate the service user.	See pages 46 to 49 of the "infection control guidance for Care Homes" document Record any incidents on the infectious disease – "incident surveillance form.doc" and report as appropriate.

CHALLENGE 3: Ensure that written policies, procedures and guidance for the prevention and control of infection are implemented and reflect relevant legislation and published professional guidance

 

To get top marks, you must:	Step by step guide
Provide infection-control policies and procedures	Details on pages 12 to 45 of the "infection control guidance for Care Homes" document. Print out the pages and disseminate the information, starting with the lead nurse. Print out the "Essential steps to safe, clean care" 04136275.pdf and hand out to all staff. Display a copy on notice boards Several examples of policies from NHS trusts can be found on hand hygiene, protective equipment, sharps removal, etc. These could be amended and used as a template for the Care Home policies: PolicyExample_DICF_HandHygiene.pdf PolicyExample_SUHT_HandHygiene.doc PolicyExample_SCPCT_Clothing.doc PolicyExample_SUHT_Sharps.pdf PolicyExample_SUHT_SingleUseEquip.pdf PolicyExample_SUHT_Surveillance.doc
Put in place a monitoring system and review policies/procedures at least every 2 years and update with new published evidence and guidance	Put lead nurse in charge of monitoring and reporting on results. Review procedures and amend if necessary at least every 2 years
Give access to all staff to the policies/procedures and provide dissemination mechanism of the information	Lead nurse to organise training sessions to disseminate the procedures and ensure that they will be followed. Regular team meetings to take place to ensure compliance

CHALLENGE 4: Ensure effective auditing of infection-control practices in the care home through monitoring and implementation of new findings

 

To get top marks, you must:	Step by step guide
Set up annual programme of audit of infection-control policies/procedures	Use review tools to monitor the progress (page 6 of 04136275.pdf
Review and incorporate results of the infection-control audit into plans for continuing improvement	Lead nurse to prepare audit findings and report on them to management. Action plan to be generated as a result of audit. Review dates to be included in the action plan

CHALLENGE 5: Ensure care home has a programme of education and training for infection-control that is tailored to the needs of care delivery

 

To get top marks, you must:	Step by step guide
Include infection-control in staff induction programmes and keep a documented record	Infection control procedures to be included in induction programmes. Print and hand out "Essential steps to safe, clean care" 04136275.pdf to all staff when joining.
Train all staff on infection-control and keep records	Run team meetings on infection control and keep a record of staff attending.
Provide on-going training programme for infection prevention and control to promote best practice	A large number of courses are available on the subjects of infection control, cleaning, etc. by e-learning, or face-to-face training. For instance; http://www.train4healthcare.co.uk Staff to attend regular workshops/training sessions on infection control to ensure best practice is maintained. Lead nurse in charge of monitoring that all are attending.
Include infection-control training in annual staff appraisals for all staff	Infection control to be covered in the annual appraisal. See template "job description.doc" for ideas.

CHALLENGE 6: Ensure that healthcare environments reflect best practice design for infection-control and effective cleaning services are available

 

To get top marks, you must:	Step by step guide
Take into consideration infection-control issues at the planning and design stage of refurbishments/new builds
Seek advice on infection-control as necessary for services that have implications for infection-control eg. laundry, clinical waste
Provide adequate cleaning service
Prepare cleaning schedule	Print and display the colour coding of cleaning equipment chart (page 68 of the "infection control guidance for Care Homes" document) All cleaning staff to be trained on it and a copy to be on the noticeboard.
Provide cleaning staff with training on infection-control	See details on pages 15 to 20 for cleaning, and pages 27 to 30 for laundry of the ""infection control guidance for Care Homes" document). All staff must be trained on infection control.
Give access to all staff to cleaning materials

CHALLENGE 7: Implement a policy/procedure for the decontamination of re-usable medical devices and equipment

 

To get top marks, you must:	Step by step guide
Provide policy on decontamination of medical devices and equipment	Details on pages 17 to 20 of the "infection control guidance for Care Homes" document.

Most of the products needed to control infection in Care Homes can be sourced from this website, check out the best prices for:

 

• Disposable gloves
• Disposable aprons
• Liquid soap
• Alcohol hand rub
• Disposable paper towels
• Sterilising liquid
• Colour coded bin liners
• Red sacks for soiled linen
• Masks
• Cleaning products
• Mops and buckets…. ...and much more!

We hope that this guide has been helpful in getting you started and wish you all the best in your attempt at controlling infection within your Care Home.

The Team at Gompels HealthCare Ltd.