Infection prevention
Setting the highest standards in IPC
Christine Finch, Head of Infection Prevention and Control, at Nuffield Health, provides an insight into how Nuffield Health achieved the highest standards in infection prevention across its sites, including Gold accreditation in Aseptic Non-Touch Technique (ANTT). What can NHS hospitals learn from their experience?
Infection prevention is fundamental to safe, high quality healthcare – no matter where it’s delivered. With the push to treat more patients closer to home – from medical centres, clinics and increasingly in the community, maintaining consistent standards has become a complex task - yet it’s one that’s critical to get right. Last year, Nuffield Health set itself the
challenge of evidencing the highest standards in infection prevention across its sites, targeting Gold accreditation for the Aseptic Non-Touch Technique (ANTT). As clinical teams who’ve been through this process will know, achieving Gold in ANTT across a single hospital can be challenging. To do it across 35 hospitals would be impressive enough, yet Nuffield Health took it one step further – targeting every site that offers clinical services, including their hospitals, medical centres, and fitness and wellbeing clubs hosting clinics. Head of Infection Prevention and Control, at Nuffield Health, Chris Finch talks us through how they did it, and what others can learn from their experience...
Why infection prevention matters for patient safety When I think back to when I started nursing in the ’80s, healthcare has changed immensely. Minimally invasive surgery took off by the late ’80s and quickly became standard, making operations far gentler on patients. Then came robotic-assisted surgery, first done in 1985 - right when I began my training - and now it’s just part of everyday practice. But one thing that’s remained the same is the fundamentals of infection prevention. Infections remain one of the most significant risks to patient safety in healthcare, and preventing avoidable
Nuffield Health has achieved the highest standards in ANTT across its sites.
infections is essential for achieving good patient outcomes. Even the simplest things we do, like a quick fingerprick test, can still cause infections. And once that happens, everything gets harder: healing slows down, antibiotics usage goes up, and patients can end up worse off, instead of better. That’s the opposite of why people come to us. They trust us to help, not harm - and avoiding preventable infections is a big part of keeping that trust.
The role of infection prevention at Nuffield Health At Nuffield Health, our clinical services extend beyond traditional healthcare settings like hospitals and medical centres. Across the UK, we have 110 fitness and wellbeing centres, and many of these are fully equipped clinical settings, delivering a range of services including health assessments, blood tests, and GP services. Regardless of where services are offered, infection prevention principles underpin everything we do. But with clinical services offered from a range of sites with unique
We needed a model that ensured consistency in practice regardless of setting, and upheld safety through nationally recognised frameworks.
setups and challenges, we needed a model that ensured consistency in practice, regardless of setting, and upheld safety through nationally recognised frameworks.
Why ANTT? ANTT provides an internationally recognised, standardised approach to maintaining asepsis during clinical procedures by protecting “key parts” and “key sites” through avoiding unnecessary touch, controlling the environment, and ensuring safe sequencing of tasks. It is a clear, transferable framework that applies across all clinical disciplines. Achieving the Gold standard demonstrates that safe practice is embedded across our organisation, and it promotes professional confidence, so that staff feel fully equipped and supported. Perhaps most important is what this means for patients. Achieving ANTT Gold provides clear assurance that patients will receive highquality care wherever they access our services. They have reduced risk of infection and can expect consistent care whether they attend a hospital, medical centre or clinic, or come in for a health assessment after a workout at one of our fitness centres.
With the ongoing drive to deliver care closer
to home, patients move between multiple environments and ANTT Gold provides clear
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