Policy

Infection control procedures are designed to prevent cross transmission from recognised and unrecognised sources of infection. The Care Worker Agency  recognises the need for robust infection control procedures in the social care setting to ensure the safety of staff and customers alike. It is intended that this policy and related policies will provide a common, consistent approach to infection control and prevention.

The rights of the customer to receive care irrespective of their medical condition must be balanced with the responsibility of The Care Worker Agency to offer suitable protection to employees.  It is, however, everyone’s responsibility to follow the company’s policies and procedures in order to avoid occupational exposure to potentially infectious agents and to prevent the spread of those agents.

Sharing information with other care providers

The Care Worker Agency recognises that there are times when information must be shared with other care providers, for example when a customer is admitted to hospital whilst a care worker is present.

Where a customer is known to host an infection, The Care Worker Agency has a duty to protect not only customers and care workers but the wider community. We will seek to gain consent if possible/applicable to share information regarding the hosted infection with the care providers to whom the customer is transferring to.

At no point will confidential information be shared without protecting the customer as far as is reasonably practicable. The level of information shared will be strictly as is necessary and no more. The customer may choose to simply take their The Care Worker Agency folder with them to communicate their needs to the care providers that they are transferring to.

It is the responsibility of the Care Manager to make a judgement on information sharing following the guidelines of the data protection act and company policy.

What to do if an exposure incident occurs?

A significant exposure is:

• A percutaneous injury (i.e. needle stick injury, human bite which breaks the skin) and/or
• exposure of broken skin (abrasions, cuts, eczema, etc)
• if an exposure of mucous membranes occurs including the eye

If an exposure  or incident/sharps injury should occur, the following steps should be taken to minimise the risk of harm from exposure:

Perform first aid to the exposed area immediately as follows;

Skin Tissues

• Skin/tissues should be encouraged to bleed, DO NOT suck the area.
• Wash/irrigate with warm running water and soap. DO NOT scrub the area
• Cover the area with a waterproof dressing (as soon as possible)
• Seek immediate medical advice

Eyes and Mouth

• Eyes and mouth should be rinsed/irrigated with copious amounts of water. If contact lenses are worn irrigation should be performed before and after they are removed

• DO NOT swallow the water which has been used for mouth rinsing

• Seek immediate medical advice

Incidents should be reported as directed in the Incident and Accident Policy. 

• If an employee should become infected by a communicable disease, medical advice should be sought by the manager to ascertain whether it is safe for the employee to continue to work.  If the answer is negative the employee must sign off as sick and be unavailable for work until such time as a GP is able to declare them fit to carry out their tasks.

• If an employee suspects that they have contracted or are a carrier of an infectious disease, the employee must report this to the care manager immediately. If an infection has been acquired as a result of their work this must be reported to the HSE under the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 1995.

• Care managers will support staff in any corrective actions or interventions if an incident occurs that may have resulted in cross contamination.

• In the event that The Care Worker Agency provides services to a customer or employs a care worker known to have a blood-borne virus, further protection methods will be put in place such as the recommended vaccinations which will accompany the consistent use of gloves, aprons and hand washing methods.

Procedure

A vital part of this procedure is detailed by accurate care planning and adherence to all the policies and procedures of the company.

1.   The registered care manager will take the lead on infection prevention and control matters and ensure that local policy is taken into account and implemented into practice.

2.   The person undertaking the risk assessment (normally the Supervisor) must make sure that all aspects of potential risk are identified and addressed and that regular customer reviews are undertaken to ensure there are no changes in the risk assessment and personal plan.

3.   The supervisor will ensure that any known infection is detailed in the risk assessment and removal/reduction of risk measures are clearly written for implementation during care delivery.

4.  The supervisor will complete observational supervision every three months for care staff during which time infection control procedures must be observed and upheld. In the event of failure to implement procedures the supervisor must report directly to the infection control lead.

5.   Acknowledgement must be made that in some cases customers may be carrying a communicable or infectious disease unbeknown to themselves or others and hence procedures must be equally robust in all cases. The Care Worker Agency standard operating procedure is that of implementing ‘Universal Protection’ at all times ensuring good practice regardless of individual customer’s health status.

6.   Staff will receive training on the standard principles of infection control during their induction training and this will include hand washing techniques, the use of protective clothing and PPE, as/when necessary, the safe disposal of sharps. This will be supported by the provision of up to date information leaflets to support good practice. Aprons and gloves are provided to all staff for personal protection (see Use of Personal Protective Equipment Policy).

7. Staff training will be completed during induction and then further supported by self learning using the materials supplied by the company. Training updates will take place every two years.

8.   Staff will receive education on the cause and spread of infections and understand the difference between infection and colonisation (e.g.  MRSA and COVID) and be aware of, and implement safe working practice.

9.   Staff will receive training and information on the safe handling and storage of food to prevent contamination by bacteria.

10. Staff must be fully and accurately briefed about the way the care must be delivered to reduce the risk of infection, whilst at the same time observing confidentiality of the customer’s condition.

11. Care managers must ensure that all staff are aware of how to report any occurrences/incidents where there is a risk of potential cross infection.

12.In the event of outbreaks of infectious diseases such as a gastroenteritis or pandemic flu then The Care Worker Agency will obtain and follow the local guidance until the outbreak is contained and resolved.

13.Disposal of clinical waste, including the care workers apron and gloves must be according to the local council’s waste disposal requirements. If there is no provision for disposal of clinical waste by the local council then all items of clinical waste must be disposed of in bags, securely tied and then placed into the household waste to reduce the risk of cross-contamination.  The method of clinical waste disposal must be clearly identified on the customer's care plan.

14. Although The Care Worker Agency does not administer injections or use sharp objects such as needles it is good practice to ensure that if a customer does require injections that the syringes and needles are disposed of in a safe manner to reduce the risk of an accidental sharp injury. Customers or their representative should be informed of and requested to organise the appropriate services able to provide and collect sharp containers for the safe disposal (incineration) of syringes and needles.

Infectious Diseases

Following the recent pandemic, it is essential that all staff follow correct infection control procedures as per the Covid 19 guidelines as an example. We will keep checking the updated guidelines on Public Health England and share this data with the care staff via updates on their handheld devices etc., if and when new and emerging infectious diseases occur in the UK. Staff must follow the most up to date guidance and must share this data with their co-workers and customers when needed.

Staff must don and doff (put on and take off) their PPE inside of the customers property and must keep their face mask on at all times while delivering personal care and ‘up close’ tasks in the customer's home. They may need to replace PPE while in the call as per our usual infection control procedure for handling clinical waste and must keep within easy reach, sufficient quantities of PPE in order to keep themselves and their customers hygienic and safe.

In the event of us caring for a customer with Covid symptoms for example, PPE must be worn at all times. In the event of a breach in PPE (this means PPE having been taken off or tearing while in the customers home), the office must be notified immediately and we will get advice from the 119 service of what they need to do next if appropriate. We will also make appropriate referrals to RIDDOR and HSE as appropriate and applicable.  

Reviewed in April 2025 by Fay Townsend-Jackson