Handout 5: Infection Prevention and Control Systems and Procedures Basics

The principles of infection prevention and control Handout 5: Infection prevention and control systems and procedures basics

Learning outcome 3, assessment criteria 3.1

Health and social care workers need to know about a range of infection prevention and control systems and procedures. Typically, these relate to:  food hygiene  disposal of waste  cleaning  laundry  personal hygiene and hand washing.

Food hygiene systems and procedures Food hygiene is particularly relevant to infection prevention and control because:  food provides an environment suitable for pathogens to multiply  eating provides a route for infection to enter the body.

Food poisoning causes vomiting and diarrhoea. This leads to dehydration and in severe cases can be fatal. Contamination of food can occur at any stage of the preparation, cooking, serving or storage process. Table 1 outlines how high standards of hygiene can be achieved.

Table 1: Food hygiene goals and strategies Food hygiene goal What can you do?

Keep the environment clean  Wipe down surfaces using clean cloths and appropriate cleaning solutions.  Wash and dry equipment using cleaning solution and hot water.  Never allow pets in the kitchen when preparing food or cooking. Maintain good personal hygiene  Wash your hands.  Tie your hair back.  Wear an appropriate apron.  No tasting from the cooking spoon.  Cover cuts with a blue plaster (to prevent it being lost in food).  No coughing/wiping nose.  Do not cook if you feel unwell.

Safe food practices  Keep to sell-by and use-by dates.  Use separate knives and chopping boards for raw fish, meat and vegetables and cooked food to prevent cross-contamination.  Store food correctly, according to instructions.  Check fridge and freezer are working correctly at the correct temperature.  Rinse fresh fruit and vegetables before use.  Cool food before refrigerating or freezing.  Thaw food before cooking.  Heat food through thoroughly and don’t reheat cooked food more than once.  Cover meat and place on the bottom shelf of the fridge so it doesn’t drip on other food. Disposal of waste Rubbish and other waste products provide a perfect environment for harbouring pathogens and spreading infection. Different types of waste need to be disposed of in different ways (see table 2).

Table 2: Disposal of waste in health and social care settings Category Examples Colour code stream Disposal Hazardous waste Catheter bags Yellow or Incineration Infectious, dangerous or Dressings orange bag toxic

1. Clinical waste

Needles, Rigid yellow Incineration razors, receptacle, marked to scalpels show where to fill to, 2. Sharps with different coloured lids denoting content Drugs eg medicines and Discarded Yellow receptacle with tablets medicines blue lid Toxic chemicals Non-hazardous Packaging Black or clear bags Recycle: (paper, Also called domestic waste, Food waste glass, tin, which is non-harmful and Vacuum cardboard, can be safely recycled or cleaner dust plastic) will rot down in time. Compost: (vegetable and fruit peelings and waste cooked food) Landfill: the rest Offensive hygiene waste Nappies Yellow bag with a Landfill Non-infectious and Incontinence black stripe to alert non-hazardous, but may be pads handlers to content. unpleasant if individuals Sanitary wear Picked up by come into contact with it. arrangement with local authority.

Cleaning policy Most health and social care settings will have an environmental cleaning policy that provides guidance about cleaning. This should refer to:  products: appropriate chemicals for particular jobs, used in correct concentrations and stored and disposed of safely after use in accordance with COSHH;  equipment: colour-coded mops and cloths that indicate which area it is intended for, such a kitchen area and bathroom area, to prevent cross-contamination. Mops and cloths must be cleaned after use and left to dry in the air. Mop-heads and cloths must be replaced as necessary;  methods: correct ways to clean different items;  regimes: a timetable to ensure all areas are cleaned regularly. For example, in a health care setting floors will be cleaned daily, but windows are cleaned less frequently.

Laundry procedures Soiled laundry is a potential source of infection when it is contaminated with body fluids. For this reason you should always wear PPE and place soiled clothing and bed linen directly in the appropriate laundry bag. If there are solid faeces present they should be disposed of down the toilet. Bring the laundry bag to the bedside. To carry laundry around in your arms risks contaminating your clothes and placing it on the floor, table or chair risks contaminating these areas also.

Laundry bags There are specific (usually red or pink) bags for soiled laundry that dissolve on contact with hot water. These bags alert workers in the laundry to the contents, meaning they avoid opening them and risk being exposed to unpleasant and potentially contaminated items.

If you work in the homes of service users and there is a particular issue to do with managing soiled laundry discuss this with your manager, because sometimes specialist laundry services can be made available. Laundering soiled clothing can be difficult because the high temperatures required to clean properly can damage the material. It may require a service user to be assessed by a continence advisor, or to have more appropriate clothes provided.