The Principles of Infection Prevention and Control

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Unit ICO1 The principles of infection prevention and control 1.1 One of the most important responsibilities care workers have in the prevention of infection is using standard precautions for all people. The principle of standard precautions is that all people are considered high risk, that is, they are considered a high infection risk. This includes yourself. You can prevent infection by doing the following Disposing of waste correctly Washing hands when appropriate Attending infection control training and keeping updated Maintaining personal hygiene Wearing clean PPE for each person If a person has an infection, your responsibilities will focus on controlling and limiting the spread of the infection. The steps taken to help prevent infections will be maintains, you will already be treating all people as high risk, but with confirmed infection outbreak, you will need to be more vigilant and record and report any changes in a person’s condition. 1.2 Employers have the responsibilities to protect employees from danger and harm, as far as is reasonably possible. For example employers must Carry out risk assessments to assess the dangers of certain work activities Provide a safe workplace Provide training for staff Provide personal protective equipment Ensure regular health and safety checks are undertaken These responsibilities extent to employers protecting employees from the risks posed by biological hazards such as blood, body fluids and associated infections. Your employer will have put infection prevention and control policies and procedures in place for staff to adhere to. Care managers have a responsibility to the people within the care of the organisation and should undertake regular checks on the cleanliness of the setting, monitor hand washing practice, know who to contact in the event of an infection outbreak and report it to

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