Care Homes Urged To ‘Clean Up’ Infection Prevention Guidelines

Care homes are being urged to remind staff, residents and visitors of their infection prevention guidelines during this year’s International Infection Prevention Week (IIPW).

IIPW takes place across the globe every October to raise awareness of healthcare-associated infections (HCAIs) and the effect infection control has on patient and resident safety.

These HCAIs cost the NHS an estimated £1 billion every year and have a major impact on the availability of beds in hospitals, with infected patients requiring, on average, an extra 11 days of care.

Infection prevention specialists Care Shop are backing IIPW 2014, which runs until October 25th, and have produced a series of informative posters that care and nursing homes can download for free and put up to increase awareness.

The four posters were created with the help of the Infection Prevention Society (IPS) and feature key guidelines that care home workers, residents and visitors need to remember to help reduce the spread of infection.

Caroline Johnson, digital marketing manager at Care Shop, said: “We understand that safety is of the utmost importance to our healthcare customers.

“But with so many policies and procedures to follow, it can often be difficult to take in and remember all the necessary information, especially for those not working in the industry like residents and visitors.

“We decided to produce a set of posters that focus on key points and really clean up the message that needs spreading.”

Visit www.careshop.co.uk/international-infection-prevention-week to download your free posters and help raise awareness of IIPW by sharing them on your blog and social media.