Infection prevention and control in care homes: CQC have published the set of questions which they use to look at how well staff and people living in care homes are protected by infection prevention and control. The aim is to help providers prepare for the risk of a second wave and the impact of winter pressures. This tool also provides useful examples of what good practice looks like.
NHS England and NHS Improvement and Public Health England have produced a quick reference guide to Infection prevention and Control supporting documentation. The documents detail links to IPC and COVID-19 guidance and training resources for healthcare settings.
HM Government has produced a short video on hand hygiene to prevent COVID-19 infection.
Skills for Care has published information on infection prevention and control in care homes, including a separate webinar question and answer session.
DHSC and UK Health Security Agency have issued Guidance for people previously considered clinically extremely vulnerable from COVID-19
Stop, Look, Care booklet and training
The Stop Look Care Project aims to improve the client’s experience of the care they receive by increasing care workers’ confidence in identifying the signs of deterioration in health and wellbeing and take the appropriate course of action to manage it quickly. Using the Stop Look Care booklet within your home will bring benefits to your clients, your staff and the care you provide. As winter approaches and the annual ‘flu season is complicated by Covid, the Stop Look Care booklet can provide a foundation for care staff to support residents.
A booklet entitled "Stop Look Care: Supporting you to deliver great care" is available for download. To order the paper copy of booklet for free, homes could email sesc.stoplookcare@nhs.net
Beyond Covid-19: Infection Prevention and Control for Extra Care, Supported Living and Domiciliary Care staff
The webinar looks beyond covid-19 with a greater focus on all infectious diseases, exploring how best to break the chain of infection and give practical application of precautionary measures and actions that carers who work in people’s own homes can take.
We hope that revisiting these basic principles of care will help staff transition through living with covid-19 to providing high level IPC care beyond.
The webinar content is as follows:
• Reminder of common community and key healthcare infections to include basic signs and symptoms and key routes of transmission
• Reminder of the chain of infection and discussion around where transmission can be broken (this will bring in many principles of basic IPC including hand hygiene, PPE, waste management and isolation)
• Investigate ways that IPC practice can be adapted to overcome the challenges of working within someone else’s home.
• Decontamination and cleaning
• Q&A sessions
Beyond COVID-19 Infection Prevention and Control in specialist ASC sectors sessions can be accessed as a pre-recorded session through Eventbrite until the end of August.
Health Education England e-Learning for Healthcare (HEE e-LfH) has developed a coronavirus programme of online learning resources. It is free to access for people working in the NHS, social care and independent sectors. The resources are organised by professional role.
HEE has also developed a number of information videos to support infection control.
ANTT (Aseptic Non Touch Technique) and Catheter care
Prepare to Administer an Injection
Prevention of Catheter-associated UTI (CAUTI)
Preventing the spread of infection