Department of Health Consultation on the Health and Social Care Act 2008 Code of Practice for health and adult social care on the prevention and control of infections and related guidance.
The Department of Health is consulting on two separate, but linked publications:
- a draft 'Health and Social Care Act 2008 Code of Practice for health and adult social care on the prevention and control of infections and related guidance' and,
- a draft supporting document 'Prevention and control of infection in care homes'
The definition of ‘health care associated infection’ includes any infection which is directly or indirectly attributable to the provision of health or social care. The draft Code and guidance therefore cover infections from all sources including food, water, waste materials, infestations, etc.
This consultation is required due to changes introduced under the Health and Social Care Act 2008 involving the recent establishment of the Care Quality Commission and the introduction of a new registration framework for all providers of regulated activities in health care and adult social care in England, as outlined below. (See below for background information.)
The consultation closing date and the deadline to send responses in is 6 November 2009. The ‘Draft Code of Practice and related guidance’ and the ‘Draft Prevention and control of infection in care homes’ together with supporting documents and form for responding to the consultation can be found on the Department of Health website.
CIEH members are requested to send their views to Ian Gray, Principal Policy Officer, at i.gray@cieh.org who will be collating responses on behalf of members and making the formal submission to the Department of Health.
Ian Gray says:
“The CIEH supports the establishment of this Code of Practice which will set the standards for the prevention and control of infections for all providers of health and adult social care services. The Code will be able to be enforced through the registration requirements of the Care Quality Commission whose inspectors will need to liaise closely with local authorities and other enforcement agencies where appropriate to ensure that the requirements of the Code and other associated legislation are being met.
The CIEH Policy Officers have been fully consulted on the content of the draft guidance for ‘Prevention and control of infection in care homes' and it will be important for EHPs to be familiar with this and that they promote and support good practice in this important area.”
Background information
The Health and Social Care Act 2008 established the Care Quality Commission (CQC) in place of the Healthcare Commission, the Commission for Social Care Inspection and the Mental Health Act Commission to regulate health care and adult social care in England.
Under this Act, from 2010, a new registration framework is being introduced for all providers of regulated activities in health care and adult social care in England. The framework will provide independent assurance of the safety and quality of care and these providers will need to register with the CQC and meet the same essential levels of safety and quality which will be set out in Regulations as ‘registration requirements’ (currently subject to a separate consultation).
The Health and Social Care Act 2008 also enables the Secretary of State for Health to issue a Code of Practice relating to health care associated infections (’the Code’), and the CQC will assess compliance with the registration requirement related to infections by reference to the Code.
A draft illustrative version of the new Code was produced in April 2009 and was discussed extensively with a wide range of stakeholders from the NHS and independent health care sectors and adult social care. In addition a stakeholder meeting was held with the social care sector.
The other publication, Prevention and control of infection in care homes, provides practical information to help providers of adult social care services in the interpretation of and compliance with the Code. This draft document is substantially based on existing guidance and was produced by a Working Group on which the CIEH was represented by Ian Gray and it incorporates significant contributions from members of the CIEH Policy Team.
The approach taken in the draft Code incorporates risk assessment and proportionality of response with the expectation that effective prevention and control of infection has to be embedded into everyday practice and applied consistently by everyone.
Good management and organisation are stated as crucial in establishing high standards of infection prevention and control and systems are expected to address:
leadership;
monitoring and management arrangements;
design and maintenance of the environment and equipment
application of evidence-based protocols and practices
education and training; and
information and communication.