Health and social care - infection prevention and control strategy: vision and priority statements
This strategy sets out a ten-year vision and priority statements which aim to minimise preventable infection across health and social care in Scotland, supporting safer care, stronger systems and a person-led, rights-based approach to infection prevention and control.
References
1. Healthcare Associated Infection Surveillance and Epidemiology: Guidance, protocols and reports. NHS National Services Scotland. January 2026.
2. Manoukian, S et al. “Bed-days and costs associated with the inpatient burden of healthcare-associated infection in the UK.” The Journal of hospital infection vol. 114 (2021): 43-50, ISSN 0195-6701.
3. Guest, JF et al. “Modelling the annual NHS costs and outcomes attributable to healthcare-associated infections in England”. BMJ Open 2020;10:e033367. URL: https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/10/1/e033367.citation-tools (last accessed 30/01/26).
4. Stewart, S et al. “Impact of healthcare-associated infection on length of stay.” The Journal of hospital infection vol. 114 (2021): 23-31.
5. Global strategy on infection prevention and control. Geneva: World Health Organization; 2023.
6. Seutens, C et al. “Prevalence of healthcare-associated infections, estimated incidence and composite antimicrobial resistance index in acute care hospitals and long-term care facilities: results from two European point prevalence surveys, 2016 to 2017.” Euro surveillance: bulletin Europeen sur les maladies transmissibles = European communicable disease bulletin vol. 23, 46 (2018).
7. Health Protection Scotland. Scottish National Point Prevalence Survey of Healthcare Associated Infection and Antimicrobial Prescribing 2016. Health Protection Scotland, 2017 [Report] and Health Protection Scotland. Scottish National Point Prevalence Survey of Healthcare Associated Infection and Antimicrobial Prescribing in Long Term Care Facilities, 2017. Health Protection Scotland, 2018 [Report].
8. Cassini, A et al. “Burden of Six Healthcare-Associated Infections on European Population Health: Estimating Incidence-Based Disability-Adjusted Life Years through a Population Prevalence-Based Modelling Study.” PLoS medicine vol. 13,10, 2016.
9. Guidelines on core components of infection prevention and control programmes at the national and acute health care facility level. Geneva: World Health Organization; 2016.
10. The NHSScotland Code of Practice for the Local Management of Hygiene and Healthcare Associated Infection. Scottish Government, May 2004.
11. Antimicrobial Resistance and Healthcare Associated Infection Scotland. ARHAI Scotland 2024 Annual Report. ARHAI Scotland, Glasgow 2025 [Report].
12. Adults with Incapacity (Scotland) Act 2000.
13. The Theory of Change Process – Guidance for Outcome Delivery Plans. UK Government Analysis Function.
14. Price L et al. Effectiveness of national and subnational interventions for prevention and control of health-care-associated infections in acute hospitals in high-income and upper-middle-income counties: a systematic review update. The Lancet Infectious Diseases, 2023; 23, e347-e360.
15. Gozdzielewska, L et al. Interventions for preventing or controlling health care-associated infection among health care workers or patients within primary care facilities: A scoping review. American Journal of Infection Control, Volume 52, Issue 4, 479-487.
16. Bloch, N et al. Effective infection prevention and control measures in long-term care facilities in non-outbreak and outbreak settings: a systematic literature review Antimicrob Resist Infect Control. 2023; 12:113.
17. Kohler P and McGreer A. Infections in long-term care: burden affirmed, action needed. The Lancet Infection Diseases, June 16 2025.
18. Meier, B et al. Rights-based Approaches to Preventing, Detecting, and Responding to Infectious Disease. Infectious Diseases in the New Millennium: Legal and Ethical Challenges, vol 82, 217-253. 2020.
19. The FAIR approach – SHRC – Equality & Human Rights Impact Assessment. Scottish Human Rights Commission.
20. Primary care services – gov.scot. Primary Care Directorate, Scottish Government.
Contact
Email: HAI-AMR_Policy_Unit@gov.scot