Together we can fight infection

 

Your health and safety are our priority, and we are committed to providing the highest standard of care while reducing the risk of infection.

Key Reminders for Patients:

  • Stay home if you feel unwell, and call the surgery for advice.
  • Use hand sanitizers provided upon entry and exit.
  • Follow our guidelines regarding PPE and social distancing

Thank you for helping us maintain a safe and healthy environment for everyone.

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Our Staff

All our clinical and non-clinical staff follow our Infection Control Policy to ensure the care we deliver and the equipment we use is safe.

We aim to keep our surgery clean and tidy and offer a safe environment to our patients and staff. We are proud of our modern, purpose built Practice and endeavour to keep it clean and well maintained at all times.

If you have any concerns about cleanliness or infection control, please report these to Reception or any member of staff.

We take additional measures to ensure we maintain the highest standards:

  • Encourage staff and patients to raise any issues or report any incidents relating to cleanliness and infection control.  We can discuss these and identify improvements we can make to avoid any future problems.
  • Carry out monthly and annual infection control audits to make sure our infection control procedures are working.
  • Provide annual staff updates and training on cleanliness and infection control
  • Review our policies and procedures to make sure they are adequate and meet national guidance.
  • Maintain the premises and equipment to a high standard within the available financial resources and ensure that all reasonable steps are taken to reduce or remove all infection risk.
  • Use disposable materials for items such as couch rolls, modesty curtains, floor coverings, towels etc to minimise risk of infection.
  • Make Alcohol Hand Rub Gel available throughout the building
 
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Patient Information

Any infection can be caught or spread where there are ill people together, this can be in a hospital, a care home a GP surgery or in a public place. The information below explains how you can help the staff to reduce infection and provide a clean and safe environment in which you receive treatment and/ or care.

By following the points in this advice, you can help us to prevent vulnerable individuals from picking up an infection and prevent the spread of infections.

If people pick up an infection, it can cause discomfort, pain and anxiety.

 

What you can do?

Hand Hygiene

  • Wash your hands with soap and water after using the toilet
  • Wash your hands before eating / taking medication
  • Where supplied use alcohol hand gel to clean your hands ( hospitals, GP surgeries, care homes, other care settings)
  • Avoid touching your wounds or any indwelling devices you may have (tubes, drains or needles for example.) If you must touch clean your hands before and afterwards.
  • If you are examined or have to have a procedure, do not be afraid to ask the staff if they have washed their hands or used alcohol hand gel first.

Personal Hygiene

  • Please shower or bath, wear clean clothes and check your footwear is not muddy before going to your GP surgery or any other clinical setting.
  • The area where you are receiving treatment/ care should be clean. However, if you are concerned about the cleaning standards, please report it immediately.
  • Children should be discouraged from crawling on the floor and must be supervised at all times.
  • If you receive any treatment or care at home, please provide handwashing facilities where possible, for the person attending to you.

What is a Health Care-Associated Infection (HCAI)?

This is an infection that may affect people when they are receiving healthcare. People may catch these infections in hospitals, care homes, doctors’ surgeries, health centres and even at home if they are being cared for there.

What are the most common types of HCAI in hospital?

The most common types of HCAI in hospitals are urine infections, wound infections, skin infections, chest infections & sickness and diarrhoea.

What type of germs cause HCAI?

Some are caused by germs that live normally on our bodies and usually do us no harm such as Staphylococcus aureus, which many people can carry harmlessly in their nose. The most well known are ‘MRSA’, ‘C-diff’ and ‘Norovirus’. 

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Published: Jan 24, 2025