Important:

To help keep your records accurate, please use our official blood pressure form for home blood pressure readings. You can request a copy at reception or this can be sent to you via mobile / email.

Infection Control Statement

We aim to keep our surgery clean and tidy and offer a safe environment to our patients and staff and endeavour to keep it clean and well maintained at all times.

If you have any concerns about cleanliness or infection control, please report to our reception staff. 

Our GPs and nursing staff follow our Infection Control Policy to ensure the care we deliver and the equipment we use is safe.

We take additional measures to ensure we maintain the highest standards:

  • Encourage staff and patients to raise any issues or report any incidents relating to cleanliness and infection control.  We can discuss these and identify improvements we can make to avoid any future problems.
  • Carry out an annual and regular infection control audit to make sure our infection control procedures are working.
  • Provide annual staff updates and training on cleanliness and infection control
  • Review our policies and procedures to make sure they are adequate and meet national guidance.
  • Maintain the premises and equipment to a high standard within the available financial resources and ensure that all reasonable steps are taken to reduce or remove all infection risk.
  • Use washable or disposable materials for items such as couch rolls, modesty curtains, floor coverings, towels etc., and ensure that these are laundered, cleaned or changed frequently to minimise risk of infection.
  • Make alcohol hand rub gel available throughout the building

July 2025

Purpose 

This annual statement will be generated each year in [enter month] in accordance with the requirements of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 Code of Practice on the prevention and control of infections and related guidance. The report will be published on the practice website and will include the following summary:

  • Any infection transmission incidents and any action taken (these will have been reported in accordance with our significant event procedure)
  • Details of any infection control audits undertaken, and actions undertaken
  • Details of any risk assessments undertaken for the prevention and control of infection
  • Details of staff training
  • Any review and update of policies, procedures, and guidelines

Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) lead

The lead for infection prevention and control at St Augustine’s Medical Practice is

Nicola Beament / Louise Davies - Lead Nurses

The IPC lead is supported by Kate Parkins, Helen Trueman and Cheryl Garland.

  1. Infection transmission incidents (significant events)

Significant events involve examples of good practice as well as challenging events.

Positive events are discussed at meetings to allow all staff to be appraised of areas of best practice.

Negative events are managed by the staff member who either identified or was advised of any potential shortcoming. This person will complete a Significant Event Analysis (SEA) form that commences an investigation process to establish what can be learnt and to indicate changes that might lead to future improvements.

All significant events are reviewed and discussed at several meetings each month. Any learning points are cascaded to all relevant staff where an action plan, including audits or policy review, may follow.

In the past year there have been 2 significant events raised that related to infection control / needle stick injury. There have also been 0 complaints made regarding cleanliness or infection control. 

  1. Infection prevention audit and actions

Detail information about the organisation and any requirements needed following the CQC inspection.

  • N/A

Input any information regarding any external IPC inspections:

  • In relation to hosted services (community dermatology, PUSH, Women’s Health) BEMS Banes Enhanced Medical Services Audit
  • Infection Control Site Visit by BSW ICB IFC Lead.
  • Health and safety site visit Peninsula Nov 24.

List all internal audits

  • Gloves off Audit – re appropriate use of PPE
  • Regular Cleaning Audits
  • Infection Control Audit
  • Health & Safety Audits
  • Fridge Audit (TH)
  • Review of management policy for patients will URTI and Acute onset rashes in line with measles outbreak.

Feedback has been shared with staff,  staff are involved to promote high standards of IPC.

Detail any projected audit reviews and frequency.

  • Infection Control Audit
  • Handwashing Audit
  • Health & Safety Audit
  • IFC assurance document to be completed by Oct 2025
  1. Risk assessments

Risk assessments are carried out so that any risk is minimised to be as low as reasonably practicable. Additionally, a risk assessment that can identify best practice can be established and then followed.

In the last year, the following risk assessments were carried out/reviewed:

  • General IPC risks
  • Cleaning standards
  • Dealing with abusive patients risk assessment
  • Lone Working Risk assessment
  • Privacy curtain cleaning or changes
  • Flu / COVID vaccination clinics
  • Regular Health & Safety Audit
  • Car Parks
  • Home Visits
  • Assistance Dogs
  • Rooms
  • Legionella management
  • Automatic doors
  • Wheelchair use
  • Young Persons risk assessment
  • New and expectant mothers risk assessment
  • Home working

In the next year, the following risk assessment will also be reviewed:

  • Review of fire and general risk assessments

 

  1. Training

In addition to staff being involved in risk assessments and significant events, at St Augustine’s Medical Practice all staff and contractors receive IPC induction training on commencing their post. Thereafter, all staff receive refresher training.

Various elements of IPC training in the previous year have been delivered at the following times:

  • Via Skills for Health learning hub
  • In staff meetings
  • Findings from IFC audit / actions disseminated via email to staff.
  • Planned update in future training afternoons by Nurse Leads
  1. Policies and procedures

The infection prevention and control related policies and procedures that have been written, updated, or reviewed in the last year include, but are not limited, to:

  • Infection Prevention Control Policy updated to include all related protocols

    Annex A – Antimicrobial stewardship

    Annex B – Aseptic technique

    Annex C – BBVs (blood-borne viruses)

    Annex D – Carpets and soft furnishings protocol

    Annex E – C. difficile (Clostridioides difficile)

    Annex F – CJD (Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease)

    Annex G – Example IPC annual statement report

    Annex H – Hand hygiene and handwashing audit

    Annex I – Infection control audit checklist

    Annex J – Invasive devices

    Annex K – MRGNB, including CPE

    Annex L – MRSA

    Annex M – Notifiable diseases

    Annex N – Outbreaks of communicable disease

    Annex O – Patient placement and assessment for infection risk

    Annex P – PPE (personal protective equipment)

    Annex Q – Privacy curtains protocol

    Annex R – PVL-SA (PVL Staphylococcus aureus)

    Annex S – Respiratory and cough hygiene

    Annex T – Respiratory illness

    Annex U – Safe disposal of waste

    Annex V – Safe management of blood and body fluids

    Annex W – Safe management of care equipment

    Annex X – Safe management of linen

    Annex Y – Safe management of sharps and inoculation injuries

    Annex Z – Safe management of the care environment

    Annex AA – Scabies

    Annex BB – SICPs and TBPs

    Annex CC – Specimen collection

    Annex DD – Staff exclusion from work

    Annex EE – Venepuncture

    Annex FF – Viral gastroenteritis/Norovirus

    Annex GG – Pest control policy

  • Isolation policy

Policies relating to infection prevention and control are available to all staff and are reviewed and updated annually. Additionally, all policies are amended on an ongoing basis as per current advice, guidance, and legislation changes. 

  1. Responsibility

It is the responsibility of all staff members at St Augustine’s Medical Practice to be familiar with this statement and their roles and responsibilities under it. 

  1. Review

The IPC lead and Practice Manager are responsible for reviewing and producing the annual statement.

This annual statement will be updated on or before July 2026