Unit 4222- 264 the Principles of Infection Prevention and Control

THE PRINCIPLES OF INFECTION PREVENTION AND CONTROL

We as health care assistants, such senior health carer , we all have different kinds of roles and responsibilities that we have to follow.

We have to always be aware of and report changes in the health conditions of the individuals that we support. We also have a responsibility to assist with keeping work areas, andequipment clean, tidy and free from infection hazards.

Related article: Outline Procedures For Infection Control In Own Work Setting in a Nursery

We are also encouraged to maintain good personal hygiene for ourselves as well as our service users. For example, helping service users bath, use the toilet and change remove anddispose of any soiled clothing. Another responsibility we hold is preparing and maintaining environment before and after episodes of patient care.Following “Health and Safety Legislation” our employer like other employers must: – write and communicate a health and safety policy, including an infection control policy – carry out risk assessments to assess infection hazards and risks and ensure that, where possible, infection risks are eliminated – provide equipment which is safe and properly maintained – make sure there are safe systems of work and adequate supervision |264 |1 |2- make sure safety procedures are followed – provide a safe working environment- provide employees with adequate information, training and supervision necessary to ensure their health and safety at work – provide and maintain any necessary Personal Protective Clothing (PPE), equipment and safety devices free of charge -provide adequate welfare facilities to allow employees to maintain good levels of personal hygiene (i. e. proper toilet and washing facilities).

Current legislation and regulatory body standards which are relevant to the prevention and infection control are: – The Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 -The Public Health (Control of Diseases) Act 1984.

Provides information on the legal requirements for the reporting of contagious or infectious diseases – Food Safety Act 1990. The requirements of this act apply to any area where food is prepared, stored or eaten. Control is required to ensure that the risks of any infection, as a result of bad handling of food, are minimised. – Food Hygiene Regulations 1995. These regulations also require that employees who handle food as part of their normal duties should also undertake specific food hygiene training.- Reporting Injuries Diseases and Dangerous Occurrence Regulations (RIDDOR) 1995. The employer or manager in control |264 |2 of work premises has a responsibility under RIDDOR to report any work related accidents or disease which result in serious injury or an employee being “off sick” due to injury for more than three working days. – The Public Health (Infectious Diseases) Regulations 1998. Describe the reporting systems and the types of disease which must be reported.- Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999. Requires all staff to be provided with adequate and appropriate training and a set of working instructions demonstrating ‘safe working practices’ for work related activities. – Controls Assurance Standards – HSC 2000/02. This standard provides a framework to control and manage infection. In our care home are required to ensure effective protection and to minimise the risk of healthcare associated infections.

Effective prevention and control must be applied consistently by everyone and all staff must demonstrate good infection control and hygiene practice. Roles and responsibilities of members of staff in the organisations are:personal hygiene requirements, when and how to use personal protective equipment’s, decontaminating equipment, safe handling and disposal of clinical waste, managing blood and bodily fluids products and spills, maintaining a clean environment, cleaning routines and requirements, how to record and report accidents and incidents.

Procedures and systems relevant to the prevention and infection control are: -cleaning is a process that removes foreign material from an object. Cleaning is normally accomplished by the use of water, mechanical action and detergents. It may be manual or mechanical, using ultrasonic cleaners or washer/disinfectors that may facilitate cleaning and decontamination of some items and reduce the need for handling. -disinfection is a process that reduces the number of pathogenic icroorganisms from objects or skin, to a level which is not harmful to health. Disinfection can be carried out by either thermal or chemical processes. Thermal disinfection is preferred whenever possible. It is generally more reliable than chemical processes, leaves no residues, is more easily controlled and is non-toxic. -decontamination of equipment and the environment is a process which removes or destroys microorganisms to render an object safe for use.

It includes cleaning, disinfection and sterilisation. |264 |2 -sterilisation is a process that destroys all microorganisms including bacterial spores. Sterilisation is accomplished principally by steam under pressure (autoclaving), dry heat, by ethylene oxide gas or low temperature steam and formaldehyde. The outbreak of an infection within a care home can have serious consequences for people who come into contact with contaminated person and also for the entire organization.

An individual who acquire an infection will require medicaltreatment or antibiotic therapy, if the individual does not take medical treatment it may be risk of spread of the infection in that entire care home. Some infections may require the patient to be isolated from others to help prevent and control the spread of infections, for example infection chest.

In my opinion risk is the probability that an event will occur.

We can say that: a person may be at risk when there is the chance to be injured, to cause harm, to become infected of a desease or something that can put your life in 64 danger. A hazard can cause harm or adverse effects to individuals as health effects or to organizations as property or equipment losses. Me like care worker, I can be exposed to various potential infection within the workplace. These include the most common infections like: colds, flu, diarrhoea, vomiting.

We, carers assistants often come into contact with clients blood and body fluids, which can cause greater infections risks and may include also the risk of acquiring hepatitis or HIV, scabies ,this last one can be spread by touch. We are also exposed to infections spread through the air, such as tuberculosis and swine flu, ,this are quite rare. Other airborne infections such as streptococcal infections are more common and can lead to sore throats and raised temperature. A a care worker, I can be a source o infection to the people I provide care for, because these people are at an increased risk of acquiring an infection.

In this cause I must to take precautions to minimize the risk of cross infection. Even if I only have a common cold, I must to check my care home ‘s sickness policy and to inform my manager if I am sick . The process of carrying out a risk assessment content 5 steps: Step 1 Identify the hazards Step 2 Decide who might be harmed and howStep 3 Evaluate the risks and decide on precautions Step 4 Record findings and implement them Step 5 Review assessment and update if necessary 64 A risk assessment is one of the most important assessments. The measures put in place to reduce the potential harm from these risks, for example ensuring adequate PPE is available for staff to use.Under the “ Health and Safety at Work Act 1974”, all employers have a legal responsibility to protect the health and safety of their employees and anyone else using the work place, in care homes this would include clients, friends andfamily. The risk assessment is one of the most important assessment an employer can undertake to protect these peopleas well as their organisation’s reputation. The assessment identifies the risks in the workplace and the measures put in place to reduce the potential harm from these risks, ex. ensuring adequate PPE is available for staff to use.Failure to undertake a risk assessment is illegal because put at risk the health and safety of all people who is 64 inside of care home, especially the most vulnerable, the residents who are living there and about we are providing care for.

Personal protective equipment (PPE) is used by us, health care assistants to protect us and also the people who receive care from harm, to protect our skin and mucous membranes of the eyes, nose, and mouth from exposure to blood or other potentially infectious body fluids or materials and to avoid contact. All PPE should be removed when 64 leaving the resident care area.The different types of PPE used in care health are: – Uniform – is important to wear the uniform only at work place to reduce the risk of infections. The uniform should be clean every day and should be changed if become soiled. -Gloves – prevent gross contamination of the hands when touching body fluids; reduce the likelihood that microorganisms present on the hands of personnel will be transmitted to an individual during invasive or other individual care procedures.

Gloves may have small, unapparent defects or may be torn during use, and hands can becomecontaminated during removal of gloves hand hygiene is essential before donning another pair of gloves. – Aprons – protect the uniform from becoming soiled during wound care or toileting the resident. Should be placed over the uniform before activities involving body fluids. Blue aprons when feeding a resident, white aprons for toileting, bath and wound care. – Masks – should be used when microorganisms might be present in the air.

Visors can be attached to provide full faceprotection; -Goggles – protect eyes; -Hats 64 -Visors -Face shields – protect face, mouth, nose and eyes;- Shoes – every employer require a type and colour of shoes. The shoes must be comfortable and do not have high heelsor opened toe. Any PPE equipment used must be handled correctly to be efficient. Before to use any PPE equipment we need to wash properly our hands. Important key points about PPE:-done before contact with the client,-use carefully , don’t spread the infection,-remove and discard carefully, and immediately wash your hands properly.Gloves -we must used them from “clean to dirty” 64 -limit opportunities for” touch contamination”, protect us, others and the environment -don’t touch our faces or adjust PPE with contaminated gloves -don’t touch environment surfaces except as necessary during client care -change gloves during use if torn and heavily soiled, even during use on the same client; -discard in appropriate receptacle, never wash or reuse disposable gloves. Under Health and Safety at Work Act 1974, it is made clear that if items of PPE are required, then they must be provided free by the employer.

Under same Act, are specific regulations which specifically address PPE, this are:-Personal Protective Equipment at Work Regulation 2002 -Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 64 -Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 2002(COSHH) The responsibility regarding the use of PPE is in section 7 of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 and impose allcare workers to take responsible care for their own health and safety and that of others who may be affected by theiracts or omissions at work, in our case ,our residential clients.The important responsibilities include: -attending training provided by the employer relating to how to use PPE -using PPE in accordance with training 64 -taking responsible care of all PPE provided by the employer -returning PPE to the correct storage accommodation provided for it after use – reporting to the employer any loss or obvious defect as soon as possible. Under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974, employers have the responsibility to ensure, as far as possible the health, safety and welfare at work.

Employers have a duty of care under the Personal Protective Equipment at Work Regulations 2002: -properly assessing the need for PPE and assessing PPE before it is used to ensure it is suitable -providing free PPE to employees -ensuring PPE are maintained and stored properly -providing employees with adequate information, instruction and/or training on its use. -ensuring employees follow the training provide and that they use the PPE provided.When removing its recommended to avoid touching as much is possible to reduce the risk of transferring pathogenic organisms. Washing should be at a temperature at least 60 degree and separately from other cloths. Gloves should be applied on clean, dry hands and ensure there are no holes and tears and is the correct size. When remove gloves grab the cuff one glove with the opposite hand, while still holding the removed glove pull of the second by holding the cuff and pulling down over hand, dispose gloves and wash hands.

Aprons should be applied over uniform and after use removed carefully do not touching the front of the apron. The apron will end up securely enclosed in the gloves and disposed. Masks should be removed by untying the bottom tie then the top tie and moving it away from face by holding the ties, after dispose it. Visors should be removed sliding the visor up and away from face. Should be cleaned and 64 decontaminated as appropriate and then dried. Shoes should be cleaned and decontaminated as required.Masks, hats, gloves and aprons are classed as clinical wastes are regarded as high risk items. They must be disposed carefully to reduce the risk of cross infection. When removing PPE avoid touching the contaminated surface, remove the items before moving to the next resident, place the items in the correct waste containers ready for collection, decontaminate equipment such as visors and return them to their correct storage accommodation, inform manager if any PPE is damaged or stock levels are low.

As a care assistant I’m a model and need to set a good example because I have a vital role to play in the prevention and control of infection and this start with my own personal hygiene, daily body hygiene, baths or showers, washing hands when appropriate, keep clean hair and tied up if is long, wear clean cloths, uniform, clean nails and well-trimmed free from polish, remove jewellery except small earrings and wedding ring.Hand-washing is the single most important aspect of prevention and control of infection and nevertheless the most neglected practice. A good hand washing reduce the risk of cross infection and also can significantly reduce the presence of pathogenic organisms on the hands. As well, an effective hand washing technique aims to remove dirt, organic material and pathogenic organisms such as those found in blood, faeces and respiratory secretions like expectoration. 64 After we washed our hands, it’s very important as well to dry them with absorbent disposable paper towels.The correct sequence for hand washing is: I Rub palm to palm II Rub palm over back of hand, fingers interlaced III Palm to palm fingers interlaced IV Fingers interlocked into palm 64 V Rotational rubbing of thumb clasped into palm VI Rotational rubbing of clasped fingers into palm.Hand washing should be carried out: -before putting on a clean uniform or PPE, -before any aseptic procedure, -after resident contact, -after removing PPE, -after using the toilet, -before eating, handling food, -after finishing work.The types of products should be used for hand washing: General hand washing soap used for routine hand wash has minimal ability to destroy microorganisms and is useful toremove dirt, grease and loosely adhered microorganisms. – Disinfectant hand wash is commonly used in clinical areas for clinical purposes. -Surgical scrub solutions- used for antiseptic procedures, these solutions can lead to dry skin and irritations. – Alcohol gel used where sinks and soap is unavailable immediately after contact with patient.Correct procedures that relate to skin care are: maintaining healthy skin, maintaining body hygiene, apply moisturising cream, do not use a substance unless it is identified, always read the label on a product before use it,wear the correct gloves for the task and as instructed, never wear gloves which are torn or share gloves with anotherperson, wash hands after removing gloves, report immediately to the manager any: skin irritation or puncture wounds, cuts or abrasions which occur at work and obtain first aid if necessary, cover cuts and wounds with a waterproof self-adhesive plaster when at work and change it at least daily.

Sources:

http://www. wales. nhs. uk/sites3/Documents/739/RCN%20infection%20control. doc. pdf http://www. markedbyteachers. com/as-and-a-level/healthcare/describe-the-roles-and-responsibilities-of-staff-in-relation-to-infection-prevention-and-control-in-a-health-or-social-care-workplace. tml -“Health and Social Care Level 2 Diploma” – book