Welcome to Culcheth Medical Centre
Culcheth Medical Centre is a friendly General Practice Partnership open to all patients living within our Practice boundary in Culcheth, Glazebury, Croft and the surrounding areas. We work in partnership with our patients and our Patient Participation Group (PPG) to provide medical care for our patients.
Infection Prevention Control (IPC) Annual Statement 2024 - 2025
Purpose
This annual statement will be generated each year in JANUARY 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. It summarises:
- 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 prevention and control of infection
- Details of staff training
- Any review and update of policies, procedures and guidelines
Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) Lead
Culcheth Medical Centre for Infection Prevention and Control: Julie Brookes
Infection transmission incidents (Significant Events)
Significant events (which may involve examples of good practice as well as challenging events) are investigated in detail to see what can be learnt and to indicate changes that might lead to future improvements. All significant events are reviewed in the quarterly meetings and learning is cascaded to all relevant staff.
In the past year there have been no significant events raised that related to infection control.
Infection Prevention Audit and Actions
- The Infection Prevention and Control audit is completed annually and the IPC lead currently is nurse Julie Brookes.
- Techniques and best practice are discussed at staff practice meetings and on the Blue stream training module.
- A Cleanliness audit is completed monthly.
Culcheth Medical Centre plan to continue to undertake the following audits in 2023
- Annual Infection Prevention and Control audit
- Domestic Cleaning audit (Cleaning Company)
- Hand hygiene audit
Risk Assessments
Risk assessments are carried out so that best practice can be established and then followed. In the last year the following risk assessments were carried out / reviewed:
Legionella (Water) Risk Assessment: The practice has conducted its water safety risk assessment in the last 12 months to ensure that the water supply does not pose a risk to patients, visitors or staff. The water is monitored every month by NHS PS-who are our landlord, and the audit is kept on site.
Curtains: The NHS Cleaning Specifications state the curtains should be cleaned or if using disposable curtains, replaced every 12 months. To this effect we use disposable curtains and ensure they are changed every 12 months. The window blinds are very low risk and therefore do not require a particular cleaning regime other than regular vacuuming to prevent build-up of dust. The modesty curtains although handled by clinicians are never handled by patients and clinicians have been reminded to always remove gloves and clean hands after an examination and before touching the curtains. All curtains are regularly reviewed and changed if visibly soiled.
Toys:
There are no toys in waiting / consultation rooms.
Cleaning specifications, frequencies and cleanliness:
We have a cleaning specification and frequency policy which our cleaners and staff work to. An assessment of cleanliness is conducted by the cleaning team and logged. This includes all aspects in the surgery including cleanliness of equipment.
Hand washing sinks: All clinical sinks meet the required standards with wall mounted soap dispensers and visual guides for hand washing techniques.
Training
All our staff receive annual training in infection prevention and control and have completed their training and key learning facts are disseminated to the HCA/Practice nursing team during in house training sessions.
Policies
All Infection Prevention and Control related policies are in date for this year.
Policies relating to Infection Prevention and Control are available to all staff and are reviewed and updated annually, and all are amended on an on-going basis as current advice, guidance and legislation changes. All policies are kept on GP teamnet for staff to access freely. Infection Control policies are attached to the annual training module in Bluestream for reading and any updates are circulated and discussed at meetings when required.
Responsibility
It is the responsibility of each individual to be familiar with this Statement and their roles and responsibilities under this.
Review date
January 2025
Responsibility for Review
The Infection Prevention and Control Lead Julie Brookes and the Practice Manager Shelley Moores are responsible for reviewing and producing the Annual Statement.
I have read and understood the IPC statement for the year 2023/24