Health and social care - infection prevention and control strategy: vision and priority statements

Strategic Vision, Scope and Priority Statements

3.1 Ten-year vision

A Scotland where preventable infection is minimised for people accessing, using or providing health and social care.

3.2 Scope

Recognising the importance of IPC in all health and social care settings, the IPC Strategic Development and Oversight Group were committed to this integrated approach.

This strategy is applicable to all settings where health and social care is provided.

It is applicable to:

• Healthcare services delivered or commissioned by NHS Scotland.
• Healthcare services delivered or commissioned by Health and Social Care Partnerships.
• Primary Care providers.
• National NHS Boards.
• Independent healthcare providers including third sector providers registered with Healthcare Improvement Scotland.
• Social care providers registered with the Care Inspectorate.
• Healthcare environments and services within Prison.
• Unpaid carers.

A number of action plans will be developed over the ten years covered by this strategy. These will result in outputs in line with the priorities determined by the Development and Oversight Group. Actions and outputs will be risk-based and proportionate to the burden of infection and the needs of the service provided in the context of the WHO core components for IPC. This may mean that specific actions and outputs may not apply in some settings included in the wider scope.

The strategy and resultant actions will be for health and social care settings. However, the outputs developed over the tenure of this strategy may be applicable to wider population needs and settings. The IPCSDOG noted the need for national coordination with public health, environmental health and wider stakeholders in this regard.

For the purposes of this strategy, social care refers to the range of services and support provided to help individuals – of all ages in a variety of settings from own home to care homes – maintain their well-being, independence, and quality of life, particularly when they face challenges due to age, disability, illness, or social circumstances. It is distinct from healthcare because it focuses on daily living and social needs rather than medical treatment.

Primary care is the first point of contact with the NHS.^[28] This includes contact with community-based services provided by general practitioners (GPs), community nurses, dentists, dental nurses, optometrists, dispensing opticians, pharmacists, midwives and pharmacy technicians. It can also be with allied health professionals such as physiotherapists and occupational therapists.

3.3 Priority Statements

1: Political commitment, governance, leadership and policies

Demonstrate visible and sustained leadership and action-orientated political commitment to ensure:

a) IPC is a national priority, with effective and embedded governance and accountability, and recurring, risk-based investment to enable improvement across health and social care.

b) Policies align with existing standards (Healthcare Improvement Scotland IPC standards^[29]) and are developed through a human rights-based approach that considers both the context of, and setting for, care delivery and lessons learnt from public inquiries related to infection prevention and control.

2: Pro-active national and local IPC programmes

a) Integrate and embed IPC as an active and implicit part of everyday care.

b) Build on progress towards meeting (as a minimum) the WHO core components of IPC across health and social care; with an emphasis on continuous improvement, resilience and preparedness.

c) Implement IPC interventions using key aspects of behavioural science, including in the context of implementing the UK National Action Plans under the 20-year vision for antimicrobial resistance; and

d) strengthen IPC knowledge and practice across health and social care in the context of preparedness, operational readiness and response for public health emergencies (such as, disease outbreaks, pandemics and national learning opportunities) at the national and facility levels.

e) Develop and deliver programmes which involve – and are developed in partnership with – those delivering and receiving care

3: IPC integration and coordination

a) Consistently coordinate and integrate IPC with other relevant priorities, including those on: antimicrobial resistance, quality improvement, public health and Scottish Government health and social care strategies and policies.

b) Ensure equity of governance and IPC knowledge and skills competencies across health and social care settings.

c) Embed risk-based, proportionate and context-specific approach to implementation of IPC measures in health and social care.

4: IPC education, training and IPC career development for health and social care workforce

a) Using the IPC education curriculum for non-specialists and associated IPC Specialist Career pathway, ensure IPC education and training is embedded in health and social care workforce development, ensuring appropriate level of general to specialist competence.

b) Ensure a recognised career pathway and job opportunities for IPC specialists which empower their diverse roles.

c) Development of educational resources to support those receiving care and their unpaid carers and families utilising novel approaches.

5: Data for action

a) Establish and/or better utilise available systems for regular data collection with a focus on IPC indicators and Health and Social Care associated infection surveillance with appropriate statistics and information governance enablement.

b) Ensure that the data collected are meaningful, risk based and proportionate to support reduction of unnecessary harm from infection, and support data sharing where appropriate to maximise impact.

c) Ensure that any data collected serves multiple purposes, with a focus on quality improvement and learning as well as assurance, measuring impact, analysing and interpreting data and informing resource allocation within the context of a quality management system.

d) Develop, implement, measure, and regularly update locally tailored and actionable local improvement plans.

e) Establish mechanisms for accountability based on IPC and Health and Social Care associated infection data.

f) Ensure training and expertise for data collection, analysis, interpretation and quality control.

6: Advocacy and communications

a) Embed a human-rights based, compassionate, sustainable and proportionate approach to IPC in Scotland.

b) Incorporate learning from behavioural science research outcomes into development, implementation and evaluation of IPC programmes.

c) Organise, implement or align with/ complement existing campaigns to promote and raise awareness of IPC themes, risks and targets.

d) Actively engage with, listen to and act on the feedback from staff, patients, service users, unpaid carers and families.

e) Provide tailored, accessible and consistent communications for the public and health and social care staff from authoritative sources, based on science and adapted for different audiences; and aligned with public health and antimicrobial resistance messaging.

f) Provide innovative advocacy approaches through a range of communication channels.

g) Evaluate messaging campaigns and impact; adapting and tailoring the messages based on the outcome.

7: Research, development and innovation

a) Identify research gaps for IPC to support innovation (e.g. in IPC programmes).

b) Review the adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) and digital innovation in IPC drawing on both existing and emerging data.

c) Fund and facilitate good quality IPC research, answering key questions for guidance and providing innovative approaches in IPC.

d) Ensure IPC research is collaborative with a focus on context-specific research, in health and social care settings.

e) Support IPC data sharing for research and to inform improvement and research capacity and capability building.

8: Collaboration and stakeholders’ support

a) Strengthen collaboration and alignment among stakeholders to strengthen local systems, support system integration, strengthen consistency and avoid duplication, a truly “Once for Scotland” approach.

b) Acknowledge that collaboration and co-design is essential to successful delivery of the vision with an emphasis on local partnerships and system integration within a national framework.

c) Support multidisciplinary networking and partnerships between nations, facilities, institutions and internationally to share IPC experiences and expertise.