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UL Hospitals Group Infection, Prevention and Control

Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) at UL Hospitals is fundamental to our delivery of safe patient care.

Our IPC team works with staff across all hospital sites in UL Hospitals Group. They advise and support them on how our patients should be managed and cared for depending on the type of microbe or infection concerned.

All staff receive regular training on IPC practices. Staff are kept up to date on how to protect themselves, and those that use our services.

Prevention

It is important that staff take precautions to stop germs (bacteria, viruses or fungi) spreading. Staff wear protective clothing, such as aprons, gloves and sometimes masks, when caring for people.

UL Hospitals Group has a comprehensive infection prevention programme in our hospitals. Our IPC team give information and advice to healthcare workers, patients and visitors on how to:

  • manage infections
  • prevent the spread of infections
  • reduce the risk of healthcare-associated infections

The IPC team do this through education, audit and surveillance. The team also develops policies and guidelines, and produce posters and leaflets.

The IPC team check for a range of infections and identified risk points. The team's programme spans all elements of infection control, including:

  • Infection Surveillance and Management
  • National Key Performance Indicators for Healthcare-associated infections (HCAIs) such as Clostridium difficile and Staph Aureus bacteraemias
  • Multi-resistant Organisms such as MRSA, CPE, ESBL and organisms of specific interest such as Clostridium difficile
  • Device Associated Blood Stream Infections (BSI)
  • Environmental Hygiene
  • Equipment Cleanliness
  • Hand Hygiene

Hand Hygiene

Care starts with clean hands. Hand hygiene has a major role to play in the prevention of infection. Clean hands reduce the risk of spread of bugs and infections.

Our patients and visitors to our hospitals should never feel uncomfortable checking if a staff member has cleaned their hands. They are encouraged to ask healthcare workers to clean their hands before they begin treating patients.

We encourage and advise visitors to our hospitals to clean their hands before and after visiting relatives or friends. Hand hygiene dispensers are located at the entrances and throughout the hospitals.

Related topics

Hand hygiene for staff and patients

Health Protection Surveillance Centre Hand Hygiene information

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