Infection Control Annual Statement
Purpose
This annual statement will be generated each year in June 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
GP Lead: Dr Caroline Ahrens
Nurse Lead: Samantha Smith
Premises Lead: April Tinegate
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 the practice Nurse Meetings (bi-monthly), Partners Meeting (weekly) and full clinical meetings (quarterly). 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 last Annual IPC Audit was completed in June 2024. This involved a comprehensive review of all aspects of infection prevention and control within the surgery. As a result of this audit, the following changes are planned at the Abbey Medical Group of practices.
- Completion of an IPC Annual Statement
- New wipeable chairs for all clinical rooms
- New pedal wastebins
- Dressing cupboard door to be fixed and top of cupboard to be boarded making a complete boxed unit.
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. The last assessment was in September 2023 and is performed every year.
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). We take part in the National Immunisation campaigns for patients and offer vaccinations in house and via home visits to our patient population.
Other examples of Infection Prevention and Control activities:
Curtains: The NHS Cleaning Specifications state the curtains should now be cleaned or if using disposable curtains, replaced every 6 months. To this effect we use disposable curtains and will ensure that 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.
Toys: we do not have these in the surgery due to infection control risk
Cleaning specifications, frequencies and cleanliness: We work with our cleaners to ensure that the surgery is kept as clean as possible. Quarterly assessments of cleaning processes are conducted with our cleaning contractors to identify areas for improvement. We also have a cleaning specification and frequency policy which our cleaners and staff work to. In 2022 we made sure that all clinical rooms that still had carpet were replaced with easy to clean vinyl flooring.
Hand washing sinks: The practice has clinical hand washing sinks in every room for staff to use. We have replaced our liquid soap with wall mounted soap dispensers to ensure cleanliness. We have a rolling premises programme of refurbishment to ensure that infection prevention and control standards are upheld.
Staff Training
All our staff receive training in infection prevention and control. This is completed at induction via our online training platform on GP Teamnet. For substantive staff this is completed annually for clinical staff and 2 yearly for non clinical staff.
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 and all are amended on an on-going basis as current advice, guidance and legislation changes. 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.
Responsibility for Review
The Infection Prevention and Control Leads and practice manager are responsible for reviewing and producing the Annual Statement.
Review Date
June 2025