The Principles of Infection Prevention and Control

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Healthcare workers are a key risk group because of the nature of their work. There is no accurate data on infections and ill health but reporting schemes indicate infection rates of about 30 per 100.000 workers per year amongst nurses. (HSE website). The HSE is an agency set up at ‘arm’s-length’ from the Government to improve health and safety at work and help reduce the risk to workers and the public from injuries and ill health caused by work activities. It does not have a primary role in infection control but would become involved in such matters as Legionnaires’ disease for example. Risks from infection can be dealt with in the same way as other health issues in health and safety such as manual handling. The hazards need to be identified and the risks assessed and controlled. The risk assessment needs to be agreed and the competence checked by the appropriate department and staff. A risk assessment is a living document and should reflect any changes that occur e.g. if new work equipment is used or a new work activity introduced. As an employee of NBT I am responsible for attending mandatory infection control training as required. This must be updated in line with the Trust’s policies and procedures. These include reading and adhering to the Policy for the prevention and control of infection, the prevention and control of legionella (including water hygiene) HS14, the COSHH Policy (HS11) and HS29, the Policy for waste management and the safe handling of waste. My initial training took place in May 2012 and is evidenced on my green card training log. This is kept securely on Pre-operative Assessment (POA) where it is available for perusal by management should they wish to verify at any point that I am up to date with this training. I also completed an infection control E-learning course on line at NBT in June 1012. This course is an excellent refresher should I

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