Infection Control Annual Statement.
Purpose
This annual statement will be generated once a year 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 to guidance. It summarises:
- Any infection transmission incidents and any action taken (these will have been reports in accordance with our significant event procedure)
- Details of any infection control audits and any actions taken.
- Details of staff training.
- Any review and update of policies, procedures and guidelines.
Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) Lead
GP Lead: Dr Indira Jairam
Nurse Lead: Debbie Kings (HVS) and Yvette Radford (FS)
Support: Megan O’Hare (HVS) and Karen McDonald (FS)
Infection Transmission Incidents (significant events)
Significant events (which may involve examples of good practice as well as challenging events) are investigated in detail to discuss what can be learnt and how it can be prevented in the future. All significant events are reviewed at the practice meetings monthly.
In the past year there have been no significant events raised that related to infection control.
Infection Prevention Audit and Actions
The last Annual IPC Audit was completed March 2025. This involved a comprehensive review of all aspects of infection prevention control within the surgery. As a result of this audit the following changes are planned at Hillview and Farnsfield Surgery.
- Update our IPC annual statement
- Replace carpets in reception area at Hillview Surgery
- Sinks and cupboards to be replaced in clinical rooms
- Modesty curtains to be replaced at Hillview Surgery
- Seats to be replaced in the waiting room at Farnsfield
- Carpets and flooring to be replaced at Farnsfield
Risk Assessment
Risk assessments are carried out so that best practice can be established and then followed. In the last year the following risk assessment were carried out/reviewed.
Legionella (water) risk assessment: The practice reviews its water safety risk assessment to ensure that the water supply does not pose a risk to patients, visitors or staff. The last assessment was in June 2024 and is performed yearly.
Immunisation: As a practice we ensure that all our staff are up to date with their Hepatitis B vaccinations and are offered any occupational vaccinations applicable to their role. We take part in national immunisation campaigns for patients and offer vaccinations in the surgery and at home via home visits to our housebound patients.
Curtains: The NHS cleaning guidance states the disposable curtains need to be replaced every 6 months. We ensure these are changed 6 monthly.
Toys: We no longer have these in surgery due to covid.
Cleaning specifications: We work with our cleaners to ensure that the surgery is kept clean as possible. Cleaning audits are taken every 3 months to ensure the cleaners are covering all areas and to identify any areas that are needing improvement. We also have a cleaning policy and cleaning specifications which our cleaners and staff work to.
Staff Training
All our staff receive training in infection prevention and control. This is completed at induction via Teamnet. This is done yearly for clinical staff and 2 yearly for admin staff.
Policies
All our infection control policies are up to date for this year.
Policies relating to Infection control are available to all staff via Teamnet and the S-Drive. These are amended on an ongoing basis as current advice and guidelines change.
Responsibility
It is the responsibility of each individual to be familiar with this statement and their roles and responsibilities under this.
Responsibility for Review
The infection prevention and control lead and practice manager are responsible for reviewing and producing the annual statement.
Review Date
March 2026