Prevention and control of infections
The Department of Health has updated the Code of Practice on the prevention and control of infections, which applies to NHS and independent providers of healthcare. The Health and Social Care Act requires that the CQC takes this Code of Practice into account when it makes decisions about registration against the infection prevention requirements.
This document sets out the ten criteria which the CQC will evaluate registered providers on regarding how they comply with the requirement for infection control. It is important that all healthcare providers read this document to ensure consistently high levels of infection prevention.
Sections of this Code of Practice will help interpret the criteria and develop healthcare providers’ own risk assessments. This document builds on the previous Code of Practice: The Health and Social Care Act 2008, to reflect the structural changes that took effect in the NHS from the 1st April 2013 and the role of infection prevention in optimising antimicrobial use and reducing antimicrobial resistance.
Photo by Lars Klintwall Malmqvist (Larsklintwallmalmqvist) (Own work) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons
