Protecting and promoting the public's health

Our responsibilities relating to infection control and healthcare associated infections.

NHS Suffolk has a responsibility to safeguard the health of our local population and this responsibility extends to making sure that we:

• Discharge our duties as an organisation that provides NHS services to meet the requirements of the Health Act 2006.
• Ensure that other organisations, from whom we commission services, also meet the requirements of the Health Act 2006.

"The Health Act 2006: Code of Practice for the Prevention of Health Care Associated Infections" came into force in October 2006. The purpose of the Code is to help NHS bodies plan and implement how they can prevent and control health care associated infections. These infections include Meticillin Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus and Clostridium difficile.

It provides a framework for the responsibilities of the Board and all staff in Suffolk Primary Care Trust in discharging its duties, as both a commissioner and provider.

The Board of NHS Suffolk has designated the prevention and control of healthcare associated infection as a core part of the organisation’s clinical governance and patient safety programmes.

An Infection Control Network brings together the lead infection control clinicians and nominated Directors of Infection Prevention and Control (DIPCs) from across the county. Members include representatives from the Health Protection Unit and Adult and Community Services and also a lay member. The aims of the group are:

• To provide a strategic forum for the promotion of effective infection prevention and control within Suffolk health and social care services
• To review infection control management from the perspective of patients, across the whole pathway between primary and secondary care and agree action plans for improvement
• To review performance and prevalence data from across the county and recommend actions and interventions
• To guide the development of an effective infection control management culture spanning all health care providers within Suffolk
• To review local (Suffolk-wide) control of infection policies and their implementation
• To assess the impact and implications of existing and new, policies and plans, and provide guidance and recommendations for change.
• To communicate key issues relating to infection prevention and control
• To review root cause analysis for untoward infection control incidents and outbreaks and design system wide prevention strategiesÂ
• To ensure the co-ordination of health protection strategies alongside clinical infection control plans
• To share appropriate experiences and learning

For further information please contact:

Tracey Sharpe, Infection Prevention & Control Nurse Advisor, 01473 770223, tracey.sharpe@suffolkpct.nhs.uk

Rushbrook House, Paper Mill Lane, Bramford, Ipswich, IP8 4DE