OVERVIEW
This course raises awareness of infection prevention and control (IPC) so that you can help stop the spread of infection and protect yourself, colleagues and the people you support. Infections can cause serious illness and, in vulnerable people, can be fatal — but simple, consistent measures dramatically reduce the risk. In the United Kingdom, healthcare-associated infections (HCAIs) remain a substantial cause of avoidable harm: studies and NHS estimates have long indicated that around 300,000 patients a year acquire an HCAI in English hospitals, contributing to thousands of deaths annually and costing the NHS hundreds of millions of pounds. The large majority of these infections are preventable, and the most powerful single tool against them — clean hands — costs almost nothing. The course explains what infection prevention and control is, the law and responsibilities, how infection spreads (the chain of infection), how to assess the risk, and the practical control measures — standard precautions, hand hygiene, personal protective equipment (PPE), asepsis, cleaning, the safe handling of sharps and waste, and dealing with bodily fluids — that break the chain of infection.
It uses current UK terminology and references the framework that care providers in England are inspected against: the Health and Social Care Act 2008 Code of Practice on the prevention and control of infections, often called the 'Hygiene Code'. Whether you work in a hospital, care home, domiciliary care, dental practice, GP surgery, childcare setting, school, salon or food business, the principles are the same. You do not need to be a clinician to make a real difference. By the end of the course you should understand why IPC matters, recognise your own responsibilities, and be able to apply the everyday precautions that protect the people around you.
