Training
infection prevention solution for our clients. The training pathway has been designed to
provide knowledge of infection prevention and control to all staff groups and levels within our business. Level 1 is designed for frontline staff while level 3 has more in-depth content and is designed for the management population. The pathway provides a clear route for those team members who wish to develop their skills within IPC to support them to progress within the organisation and supports succession planning for key roles within cleaning supervision and management roles, while driving improvements in environmental hygiene through increased knowledge of the important role cleaning plays in supporting organisations in managing healthcare associated infections. Module 1 explains why IPC is important, how
micro-organisms are spread and ways we can prevent the spread of infection, common HCAIs, correct hand hygiene technique and when we should perform hand hygiene, the purpose of PPE in IPC and how to don and doff correctly, how to handle and segregate waste safely and correctly, and the role chemicals play in preventing the spread of infection. It is written with frontline colleagues in mind, those at the very forefront of keeping patients, staff and visitors safe through their environmental cleaning roles. It equips them with the required IPC knowledge to ensure they understand their pivotal role in breaking the chain of infection and preventing pathogenic spread. Module 2 develops on knowledge from
level 1 and covers antimicrobial resistance, impact of infections on patients, how cleaning can affect transmission of microorganisms, the stages of decontamination, cleaning terminology commonly used in health and care environments, the chain of infection, the National Standards of Healthcare Cleanliness and why we audit. This module utilised by our cleaning management teams to upskill our supervisory colleagues will drive improvements in environmental hygiene by giving our supervisors an enhanced focus on
the importance of IPC principles, allowing them to develop their knowledge and ensure our cleaning teams are operating in the way that they should, to prevent HCAIs. Module 3 is broken down into smaller sections covering more detail and the topics delivered are: managing risk; microbiology and infection prevention and control; managing client relationships (including the role of each stakeholder in reducing infection); as well as behaviours and expectations, and how this can impact patients and stakeholders. This final module also contains links to allow candidates an opportunity to undertake further research or study if they so wish. This module is aimed at our cleaning management teams to enable them to take much more active parts in discussions with our clinical colleagues related to policies, outbreak situations and critical IPC activities, thereby fostering a collaborative approach to maintaining a safe, clean environment. Each module includes learning tests to
Maintaining a clean hospital is not the job of the cleaning team alone. Consistent environmental infection prevention programmes, hand hygiene, and employee competency checking and training are some of the most effective ways to combat these infections alongside the capacity to isolate patients and assuring optimal antibiotic prescribing.
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ensure understanding of the subject materials. We believe that training our teams in this way, ensuring there is a clear progressive path of knowledge enhancement, will foster a culture of infection prevention and control, with every team member focused on ensuring they are playing their part to support patients, staff and visitors. Crucially, the Protecta IPC pathway has been designed to be used in conjunction with our Skills Academy programme, which equips every new member of our team with the core skills to deliver an effective cleaning service from day one of their employment. Utilising this approach to ensure teams have the underpinning IPC knowledge coupled with the technical skills to clean in the correct way will enhance the environmental hygiene of the hospitals.
Creating the right cleaning culture in a healthcare setting Maintaining a clean hospital is not the job of the cleaning team alone. Consistent environmental infection prevention programmes, hand hygiene, and employee competency checking and training are some of the most effective ways to combat these infections alongside the capacity to isolate patients and assuring optimal antibiotic prescribing. Training should be one strand of a holistic IPC strategy to improve environmental hygiene, which should also encompass: l Maintaining service level standards. This includes continually benchmarking cleaning performance against national standards. A healthcare cleaning toolkit has been developed by experts, using national and
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