Infection prevention and control (IPC)

Prevention and control of infection is of utmost importance at Frimley Health.

Patients are often more susceptible to infection due to underlying disease, medical and surgical procedure, and immunosuppression, and we do everything we can to provide clean, safe care for our patients.

The IPC Team provide the following co-ordinated cross-site service, monitored via an Annual Infection Prevention & Control Plan:

Development, implementation, and monitoring of the infection prevention and control policies and guidelines.
Audit and surveillance of clinical best practice, hospital cleanliness, antimicrobial stewardship, and healthcare-associated infections (and other alert organisms/ conditions).
An advisory service to staff, patients and visitors on clinical and cleanliness issues, and capital projects.
Infection prevention and control education (including hand hygiene and wearing of personal protective equipment) for all grades of staff working within the trust, and for patients to enable them to manage infection risks.
Management of outbreaks and patient placement for prevention and control of infections.
Training and supporting a network of infection prevention and control link representatives to champion best practice in all clinical areas.

Frimley Health reports healthcare-associated infections in line with national mandatory surveillance requirements and completes post-infection review to identify learning and address actions to prevent infection. Trust healthcare-associated infection data for infections such as MRSA (Meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus) bacteraemia (bloodstream infection) are accessible on the UK Health Security Agency’s website.

Antimicrobial resistance happens when micro-organisms (like bacteria and fungi) change in in response to antimicrobial medicines that work against them, meaning these medicines (such as antibiotics) are less effective, and in some cases, may no longer work.

To reduce the risk of infection, and transmission of antimicrobial-resistant organisms in our healthcare settings, screening for the following antimicrobial-resistant organisms is offered for specific patient groups at Frimley Health: MRSA, CPE (Carbapenemase-Producing Enterobacterales), and Candidozyma auris.