Infection Prevention and Control

Infection Control Annual Statement 

Purpose  

This annual statement will be generated each year in February 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: 

Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) Lead 

The Emsworth Medical Practice has a lead for Infection Prevention and Control: Alexandra Kershaw 

The IPC Lead is supported by: Dr Woodruff 

Alexandra Kershaw has attended an IPC Lead training/update course regularly during the year run by the HIOW ICB and keeps updated on infection prevention practice. 

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 quarterly nurse and practice meetings and 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 Annual Infection Prevention and Control Audit was completed by Alexandra Kershaw in May 2024  

As a result of the audit, the following things have been changed in Emsworth Medical Practice: 

An Audit on Minor Surgery was undertaken by Alexandra Kershaw in Jan 2024.  

 No infections were reported for patients who had had minor surgery at the Emsworth Medical Practice. 

As a result of the audit, the following things have been changed: 

An Audit on hand washing was undertaken in [insert date]. This was discussed at the practice / staff / partner meeting. 

The Emsworth Medical Practice plan to undertake the following audits in 2025/2026: 

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. 

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. 

Curtains: The NHS Cleaning Specifications state the curtains should be cleaned or if using disposable curtains, replaced every 6 months. To this effect we use disposable curtains and ensure 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 have no toys in the practice. 

Cleaning specifications, frequencies and cleanliness: We have a cleaning specification and frequency policy which our cleaners and staff work to. An assessment of cleanliness is conducted by the cleaning team and logged, this is audited monthly by the cleaning company. This includes all aspects in the surgery including cleanliness of equipment. 

Hand washing sinks: The practice has clinical hand washing sinks in every room for staff to use. Some of our sinks at our Westbourne site do not meet the latest standards for sinks but we have removed plugs, covered overflows and reminded staff to turn of taps that are not ‘hands free’ with paper towels to keep patients safe. We have also replaced our liquid soap with wall mounted soap dispensers to ensure cleanliness. 

Training 

All our staff receive annual training in infection prevention and control via the e-learning platform e-learning for health. 

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 they are accessable on Sharepoint -> J82009 Clinical -> Infection control.