infection prevention control by washing hands and wearing gloves

What is Infection Prevention and Control?

Infection prevention and control (IPC) aims to minimise the spread of infection in healthcare settings using IPC measures such as good hand hygiene, respiratory hygiene, personal protective equipment (PPE), waste management, management of blood / bodily fluid spills and sharps injuries. Other measures include equipment care, laundry management and management of exposures.

Why is infection prevention and control important?

The IPC team works with colleagues and external parties to help ensure the risk of acquiring an infection for patients and staff is minimised.

The risk of catching an infection whilst being treated by one of our clinicians or when being transported to the receiving location is minimal as we ensure that we are following national guidance in relation to infection prevention and control. The IPC team carries out regular audits to ensure staff are following trust procedures which will help minimise the risk to both staff and patients acquiring an infection.

IPC is important to reduce the number of healthcare associated infections (HAI) including Clostridioides difficile (C-Diff) and Methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and other infections which can cause serious complications for vulnerable individuals. The risk of acquiring these infections can be minimised by using good standard IPC practice and procedures which will protect yourself, family and others.

It is important to note that national guidance can change as new infections occur or if prevalence of an infection increases.

What does the IPC team do?

Our IPC team is committed to providing a service across North West Ambulance Service to prevent and minimise the spread of infection whilst ensuring the quality of care. The IPC team:

  • provides guidance relating to outbreak prevention and management
  • provides guidance relating to care and treatment of individuals
  • regularly reviews, updates and delivers education and training sessions
  • provides evidence based best practice to keep all individuals safe
  • provides specialist advice and education
  • works with the Occupational Health Service to ensure colleagues exposed to infectious diseases are treated as necessary
  • undertakes quality assurance visits/audit collecting data analysis of our premises, vehicles, and third-party providers.
  • constantly works with staff groups to improve best practice to reduce the incidence of HAIs
  • Updates IPC policies and procedures in line with government guidelines
  • Provides supervision of respiratory protective equipment testing to all clinical staff. This procedure is to verify that a respirator mask is both comfortable and provides the wearer with expected protection.
  • reviews all IPC incidents that are reported via the internal reporting system and review lessons learnt from them.

What can you do?

  • Follow any IPC guidance that is offered to you
  • Practice good hand hygiene. MRSA and other infections are usually passed on by human contact, often by the skin on our hands, this is why the cleaning of your hands will play a vital role in reducing infection rates. All of our vehicles are equipped with hand sanitiser and/or hand wipes and we strongly encourage you to make use of it, to help better protect you during your journey/hospital visit.
  • Consider receiving your vaccinations and making sure they are up to date.
  • If you have any concerns that an NWAS member of staff hasn’t cleaned their hands or are not adhering to IPC procedures, please politely remind them.

If you have any concerns about IPC please bring it to the attention of the staff member who will do their best to help

Common risks