Infection Prevention and Control Team
Cambridgeshire Community Services NHS Trust (the Trust) places Infection Prevention and Control and basic hygiene awareness at the forefront of management, clinical and personal care practice. It is committed to ensuring that appropriate resources are allocated for the effective and sustainable protection of patients, relatives, staff and visiting members of the public.
Health care associated infections (HCAIs) impact on the high-quality care the NHS strives to provide for patients. HCAIs are infections resulting from patients receiving a medical treatment or interventions in a range of healthcare settings which may be acquired by or transmitted to a patient in or out of hospital. Many HCAIs are avoidable, and everyone involved in patient care can contribute to the reduction in HCAIs.
The Infection Prevention and Control service’s objective is to minimise the risks of infection to all staff, patients, service users and the wider community who receive care or treatment or have contact with the Trust’s services, by limiting the acquisition and spread of micro-organisms that can cause infection
The Infection Prevention and Control team (IPaCT) work closely with the acute hospitals, commissioners and with the local unit of the United Kingdom Health Security Agency (UKHSA) within Cambridgeshire and Peterborough. The Trust has a service level agreement with the UKHSA, to provide Infection Prevention and Control Doctor support and out of hours advice. The Consultant Medical Microbiologist is based at Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.
The IPaC Team consists of:
- Kate Howard, Chief Nurse / Director of Infection Prevention and Control (Chief Nurse)
- Chris Sharp, Head of Infection Prevention and Control.
- Marlis Emery, Infection Prevention and Control Clinical Nurse Specialist.
- Dr. Nicholas Brown, Infection Prevention and Control Doctor.
The Trust has an Infection Prevention and Control Committee which meets every 3 months. In addition to the IPaCT, representation from the Trust’s Estates team and all clinical services attend.
Policies
In addition to the Trust’s overarching Infection Prevention and Control (IPaC) policy, there is an additional IPaC manual for staff to use. Topics include hand hygiene, sharp’s awareness, cleaning, decontamination, waste, MRSA, clostridium difficile, blood borne viruses and other additional disease related information.
For further information please contact:
Chris Sharp
Head of Infection Prevention and Control
Tel: 01480 308203