Infection Control – Day Care

Infection control is the name given to a wide range of policies, procedures and techniques intended to prevent the spread of infectious diseases amongst staff, service users and communities.  All of the service users and staff working in the centre are at risk of infection or of spreading infection, especially if their role brings them into contact with blood or bodily fluids like urine, faeces, vomit or sputum. Such substances may well contain pathogens, which can be spread if staff do not take adequate precautions.

Policy Statement

Hayfield believes that adherence to strict guidelines on infection control is of paramount importance in ensuring the safety of both service users and staff. It also believes that good, basic hygiene is the most powerful weapon against infection, particularly with respect to cleaning and hand washing.

Aim

The aim of Infection Control Policy of the day care service is to prevent the spread of infection amongst staff, service users and the local community.

Goals

The goals of this policy of the day care service are to ensure the following.

• Service users, their families and staff are as safe as possible from acquiring infections within day care.

• All staff at day care are aware of, and put into practice, the basic principles of infection control.

Personnel

Robert S. Reid is the Infection Control lead for day care.

Legal Considerations and Statutory Guidance

Day Care should adhere to the following infection control legislation...

• The Health and Safety at Work, etc Act 1974 and the Public Health Infectious Diseases Regulations 1988 which place a duty on cay care to prevent the spread of infection.

• The Reporting of Incidents, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 1995 (Riddor) which places a duty on day care to report outbreaks of certain diseases, as well as accidents such as needle stick accidents.

• The Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 1999 (COSHH) which places a duty on day care to ensure that potentially infectious materials within day care are identified as hazards and dealt with accordingly.

• The Environmental Protection Act 1990, which makes it the responsibility of day care to dispose of clinical waste safely.

Effective Hand Washing

Hayfield believes that, consistent with modern infection control evidence and knowledge, hand washing is the single most important method of preventing the spread of infection.  ALL STAFF should ensure that their hands are thoroughly washed and dried...

• Between seeing each and every service user where direct contact is involved, no matter how minor the contact.

• After handling any body fluids or waste or soiled items.

• After handling specimens.

• After using the toilet.

• Before handling any foodstuffs.

Hands should be washed according to the guidelines posted by each sink.  Liquid soaps and disposable paper towels should be used in day care rather than bar soaps and fabric towels.  Antiseptic hand-washing solutions should be used only in situations where hand washing is not possible.  They are not for general use.

All cuts or abrasions, particularly on the hands, should be covered with waterproof dressings at all times.

Cleaning and Procedures for the Cleaning of Spillages

All staff have a responsibility to keep day care clean and tidy and to identify areas which fall below acceptable or safe standards.

Management of the routine cleaning of day care is the responsibility of Day Care Manager.  Staff should treat every spillage of body fluids or body waste as quickly as possible and as potentially infectious.  They should wear protective gloves and aprons and use disposable wipes wherever possible.  Eye protection should also be used if there is a risk of splashing.

For a spillage of blood or body fluids a 10,000ppm hypochlorite solution (household bleach) should be used.  Staff should do the following...

• Put on disposable gloves and aprons.

• Prepare the hypochlorite solution.

• Cover the spillage with paper towels.

• Carefully wipe up the spillage with more towels soaked in hypochlorite.

• Dispose of the waste in a sealed plastic bag.

• Wash hands thoroughly in soap and water.

The Use of Protective Clothing

Gloves and disposable aprons are provided for staff that are at risk of coming into direct contact with body fluids.

The responsibility for ordering and ensuring that supplies of gloves and aprons are readily available and accessible lies with the Day Care Manager.

Any member of staff who suspects that they or a service user might be suffering an allergic reaction to the latex gloves provided should stop using them immediately and inform day care management.  They should then consult their GP.

The Handling and Storage of Specimens

Specimens should only be collected if ordered by a GP.  All specimens should be labelled clearly and packed into self-sealing bags and then taken to the GP for collection by the local laboratory.  Sterile gloves should be worn when handling specimen containers and hands should be washed thoroughly afterwards.  All specimens should be treated with equally high levels of caution.

In the event that Hayfield admits a service user who requires staff to take blood sugar readings, or to become involved in the administering or supervision of someone using hypodermic syringes, Hayfield will make contact with the local health centre and obtain sharps boxes as required.

The Disposal of Sharps (e.g. Used Needles and Ampoules)

• Sharps — typically needles, blades and broken ampoules—should be disposed of in proper, purpose-built sharps disposal containers complying with BS7320...

• Staff should never resheath needles.

• Boxes should never be overfilled.

• When full, boxes should be sealed, marked as hazardous waste and clearly labeled.

• Sharps boxes must always be placed out of the way of service users, especially from children who may be attracted by the bright colours.

• Used, filled boxes should be sealed securely and taken to the health centre for incineration.

Arrangement for Sharps boxes to be collected, should be organised by Management.

The boxes will be returned to the health centre by Management.

In the event of an injury with a used or potentially contaminated needle, staff should do the following...

• Wash the area immediately and encourage bleeding if the skin is broken.

• Report to the day care manager immediately and fill an incident form.

• Report immediately to a GP or Accident and Emergency Department at hospital.

The Storage, Preparation and Serving of Food

See Day Care policy on food preparation and handling.  Any storage or handling of food raises a potential risk of food poisoning so the highest standards of hygiene must be observed by all staff at all times.  Foodstuffs brought into the premises by staff should be stored in the foodstuffs fridge in staff room, and out of date food should be disposed of.  Staff should follow all food storage recommendations and observe sell-by dates scrupulously.

Any staff suffering from food poisoning, diarrhoea or vomiting should report it to the centre manager and see their GP immediately.

Reporting

The Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 1995 (RIDDOR) obliges day care to report the outbreak of notifiable diseases to the Health and Safety Executive. Notifiable diseases include: cholera, food poisoning, smallpox, typhus, dysentery, measles, meningitis, mumps, rabies, rubella, tetanus, typhoid fever, viral haemorrhagic fever, hepatitis, whooping cough, leptospirosis, tuberculosis and yellow fever.

Records of any such outbreak must be kept, specifying dates and times and a completed disease report must be sent to the Health and Safety Executive.

In the event of an incident, the Manager is responsible for informing the Health and Safety Executive.

RIDDOR forms are kept in the Manager’s office.

Reporting Emergencies

In the event of the suspected outbreak of an infectious disease at day care, the local consultant in communicable disease control or communicable disease team should be contacted immediately.  This can be done efficiently by going through the local health centre.

Contact details:  Gorbals Health Centre, 0141 531 8200.

Infection Control Training

All new staff should be encouraged to read the policy on infection control and food preparation and handling as part of their induction process.  Existing staff should be offered training to National Training Organisation standards covering basic information about infection control.  In-house training sessions should be conducted at least annually and all relevant staff should attend.

The Manager is responsible for organising and coordinating training.