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Contact details
We are currently postponing training and site visits. Please contact the infection prevention and control team via email to discuss how we can best alternatively support your setting.
Our contact details are via email: ciosicb.ipc@nhs.net
For care home outbreak information and resources, please visit Winter Preparedness Resource Collection for the Independent Adult Social Care Sector on Vimeo and South West Councils: UKHSA infection prevention and control and winter readiness toolkit for care homes and other residential care settings.
Please report all suspected or confirmed outbreaks to UKHSA via telephone: 0300 303 8162. To give updates for existing outbreaks, telephone: 0300 303 8162 or email swhpt@phe.gov.uk.
Care homes are required to register with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) and declare compliance with various standards. The care home annual report template has been designed to support providers in evidencing their CQC requirements.
The standard that relates to infection prevention and control comes from the Health and Social Care Act 2008: Code of practice on the prevention and control of infections and related guidance, a document that is commonly referred to as the hygiene code.
Useful links
- Bare below the elbow poster
- When do I need to wear a mask? Information for care homes
- Infection prevention and control: resource for adult social care
- Hydration assessment tools
- Hydration resource pack
- diarrhoea recording form
- Group A strep bitesize guidance
- Norovirus bite size guidance
- Adult social care residents with glutamate dehydrogenase positive toxin negative results bitesize guidance
- Clostridioides difficile infection bitesize guidance
- Scabies Pathway
- Scabies bitesize guidance
- Shingles bitesize guidance
- UKHSA PPE donning and doffing guidance
- RCHT pathology handbook
- UHP pathology handbook
- Royal Devon university healthcare pathology handbook
- Recognising urine infections can be difficult in older people. The Care home UTI diagnostic tool should be used to assess symptoms and communicate with the GP
- Urinary Tract Infections Patient Information
- Skip the dip poster
- NHS how to take a stool sample: This resource has been developed as part of the Midlands IPC Collaborative Group. The animation provides an overview of how to take a stool/faecal sample for service users who have diarrhoea/loose stools. The animation covers when samples should be taken and how to collect the sample, including how much of a sample is required. Reminding teams to be SIGHTED on the risks associated with diarrhoea and the importance of early sample taking.
- Poor mouthcare, and/or dysphagia (swallowing difficulties) can lead to lead to chest infections, such as pneumonia, which require urgent medical treatment. Please see below local resources from the Cornwall Partnership Foundation Trust Community Adult Speech and Language Team
Food and fluid texture modification
Visit the International Dysphagia Diet Standardisation Initiative website for guidance, leaflets and ideas around how to modify food and fluid for safer swallowing.
Leaflets
- Adult speech and language therapy patient guide
- Voice changes: Self-help from the Speech and Language Therapy Service
Videos
- Introduction to oropharyngeal dysphagia
- CFT Community adult speech and language team referral criteria for oropharyngeal dysphagia
Patient Information Leaflets
- RCHT Clostridium difficile patient information
- RCHT GDH positive toxin negative patient information
- RCHT extended spectrum beta lactamase (ESBL), AmpC and K1 patient information
- RCHT Glycopeptide Resistant Enterococci GRE patient information
- RCHT Hand hygiene patient and visitor information
- RCHT MRSA patient information
- RCHT Norovirus (Winter vomiting virus) patient information
- NHS Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Urinary Tract Infections Patient Information
Policies
Cornwall Council, on behalf of NHS Cornwall and Isles of Scilly ICB, procured the Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust Community Infection Prevention and Control Policies for Care Homes and disseminated them to all settings in the region in winter 2021. We endorse the use of these polices and have received very positive feedback from providers. We recommend settings ensure they have the correct versions in use within their setting by visiting the Harrogate and District NHS Community Infection Prevention and Control Care Home Policies webpage.
Cleaning
To support care homes to review their current processes to align with national standards, please see example care home cleaning specification template including functional risk categorisation, elements, performance parameters, cleaning frequencies and cleaning responsibilities.
National standards recommend using risk categories for different areas based on what happens there, and the categories then help decide how and how often things are cleaned. Please see NHSE the national standards of healthcare cleanliness 2021 to view the national standards. Further local guidance on using the standards can be found in the 18-minute YouTube narrated presentation the national standards of healthcare cleanliness 2021 implementation guidance.
Audit and competency assessment tools
- care home audit calendar template
- Care home annual report template
- hand hygiene competency assessment tool
- water safety audit tool
In our care home audit calendar template some of the audit tools and competency assessment tools we recommend using are provided by Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust Community Infection Prevention and Control. These are:
- SICPs Assurance: Annual IPC Audit Tool for Care Homes
- Aseptic technique Policy for Care Home settings
- Aseptic technique procedure audit tool for care homes
- Commode and commode pan audit tool
- Enteral tube feeding competency audit tool
- Hand hygiene audit tool for care homes
- Mattress and mattress cover audit tool
- Personal protective equipment audit tool
- Pressure relieving cushion and cover audit tool
- Safe management of the care environment audit tool for care homes
- Safe management of care equipment audit tool for care homes
The Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust Community Infection Prevention and Control website offers a variety of useful additional resources to settings, please visit their website for further information Harrogate and District NHS Community Infection Prevention and Control resources for care homes.
24/7 care home professionals’ line
The care home clinical assessment and support line is supported by NHS 111 (out of hours) and the care home support team (Monday to Friday 9am-5pm). This should not replace your normal route for first line clinical support via your GP.
Call the 24/7 care home professionals’ line on: 01872 303770.
Urinary Catheters
Please see our urinary catheters page for detailed information.
C. diff passports and #ThinkCdiff
To raise awareness of C. diff infection risk, prevention and management amongst patients, carers and health and social care workers, and to support patients with a diagnosis of C. diff to get the right care and treatment, a local C. diff passport, with an attached C. diff card, has been developed. Please see the C. diff case study for further information about the benefits for patients, carers, and healthcare workers. A #ThinkCdiff poster for general practice has also been developed as a reference guide for primary care practitioners.
If a patient receives a C. diff positive stool specimen result, they should be provided with a C. diff passport and verbal information on C. diff. The C. diff passport is designed for patients and/or carers to complete, with support from healthcare workers, if needed. The passport has been designed for patients to take to all health and social care appointments, so their infection risk can be communicated, and to support the right use of antibiotics, which is a significant risk factor for residents with C. diff.
There is also a what is C. diff poster that can be displayed in health and social care settings to inform service users on the risks, signs and symptoms of C. diff
NHS how to take a stool sample: This resource has been developed as part of the Midlands IPC Collaborative Group. The animation provides an overview of how to take a stool/faecal sample for patients who have diarrhoea/loose stools. The animation covers when samples should be taken and how to collect the sample, including how much of a sample is required. Reminding teams to be SIGHTED on the risks associated with diarrhoea and the importance of early sample taking.
Water safety
Find out about statutory obligations for water safety on our water safety page.
Norovirus
See the Norovirus page for more information.