Infection Prevention and Control Nurse

Job description

Job responsibilities

Job Purpose

To provide practical support and expertise to CityCare staff, patients and Independent Contractors across a wide range of infection prevention and control issues. This will include supporting the Infection Prevention and Control annual programme of work along with some of the wider quality and safety initiatives such as sign up to safety, patient and public involvement/ engagement, clinical audit and effectiveness and other relevant quality governance requirements.

To maintain and promote effective working relationships with all the local infection prevention and control teams across the health economy.

A main focus of this role is to support with outbreak management and prevention in care homes, home care, domiciliary care settings, hostels and other areas with reported outbreaks of infection.

Dimensions

The post holder will develop and maintain relationships with CityCare staff and Independent Contractors to ensure that all patients with alert organism infections are managed appropriately and that learning from incidents and post infection reviews is shared across CityCare and other organisations where appropriate.

The post holder will be required to support the service in the day-to-day management of the infection prevention and control workload. To take an active role in the delivery of the service level agreements and the successful implementation of the CityCare Infection Prevention and Control annual programme of work.

The post holder will work closely with the Infection Prevention and Control Matrons to identify and define the information required in order to monitor the effectiveness of the services provided.

Whilst reporting to the Infection Prevention and Control Matrons the post holder is expected to work both autonomously and as part of the wider Quality and Safety Team, using their own initiative to develop and design systems and processes which support the teams core functions.

Key Responsibilities

Clinical practice

1. Provide guidance for those working in CityCare Partnership by analysing and interpreting national quality and safety resources and initiatives and presenting the information in a way that is consistent with their level of understanding

2. Evaluate the effectiveness of existing policies and guidelines and identify areas of improvement

3. Work with individuals and colleagues to develop clear and robust policies, guidelines and standard operating procedures that prevent and control infection

4. Provide advisory support for the implementation of policies and guidelines to prevent and control infection

5. Monitor the implementation of infection prevention and control policies and guidelines, taking any corrective actions as and when necessary

6. Identify the need for improvements in infection prevention and control policies and guidelines in the light of changes to national guidance.

7. To apply microbiological knowledge in relation to the chain of infection and the infection process, alert micro-organisms, body defence mechanisms and infectious conditions

8. When necessary, to visit patients in order to provide information regarding infections or to take swabs/samples

9. To understand the significance of microbiological results, interpreting the results and the practices required to break the chain of infection.

10. To promote hand hygiene (including social hand hygiene, antiseptic hand hygiene, surgical scrub)

11. To promote the safe management of invasive devices and prevention of device-related infections and educate CityCare staff in relation to aseptic non touch technique.

12. To promote antimicrobial stewardship - prudent prescribing of antimicrobials and the surveillance of antimicrobial-resistant organisms

13. To contribute to the review of legislation, national guidance and outcomes/indicators relating to preventing and controlling infection for individuals and populations in health and social-care environments and facilities (for example, communicable disease control; immunisation; prevention and management of injuries (including sharps); post-exposure prophylaxis.

Collate, analyse and communicate data relating to preventing and controlling infection for surveillance purposes

1. Structure and analyse the infection prevention and control data correctly to identify patterns, trends and anomalies that may be significant in relation to preventing and controlling infection

2. To identify areas that may require further investigation or analysis in relation to potential risks

3. Analyse potential risks and reach conclusions appropriate to the risks

4. Act upon the risks identified, communicating them effectively to the appropriate people

5. Enable health and social-care staff to understand the data and make the necessary changes to achieve improvement outcomes

6. Take appropriate action when surveillance methods can be improved.

Manage incidents and outbreaks

1. To assess the information available on the incident/outbreak and seek any necessary further evidence to establish its nature and scale

2. To establish the appropriate response using local incident/outbreak/emergency planning guides

3. To inform and involve relevant colleagues and partner organisations in a timely manner consistent with incident emergency plans

4. To communicate clear, accurate and timely information with colleagues, partner organisations and others throughout the incident in a manner that effectively manages risk and supports effective team working

5. To review the availability of resources to implement the control measures throughout the duration of the incident/outbreak

6. To ensure accurate records of the investigation and management of the incident/outbreak are maintained throughout the process

7. To produce a final report of the incident/outbreak and communicate it to all concerned

Improve quality and safety through the application of improvement methodologies

1. Identify the need for change in practices and environments through the annual programme of audit.

2. Work in partnership with others following audit to develop solutions to improve safety and quality

3. Implement the organisations infection prevention and control programme to improve safety and the overall quality and experience of care.

4. Access existing and create new databases to manage and use data and information related to improving quality and safety

5. Guide practice in infection prevention and control through the effective communication of national quality and safety resource initiatives

6. Work in partnership with individuals, populations, staff and others to develop improvement programmes that are in line with the culture and context of CityCare Partnership.

7. Evaluate the effectiveness of improvement programmes in partnership with individuals, staff and others, identifying the improvements that need to be made in practice

8. Prepare and present infection prevention and control reports and recommendations to individuals, populations, staff, members of CityCare Partnership and other relevant parties.

Advise on the design, construction and modification of facilities to prevent and control infection in the built environment

1. Work with others on plans for the design, construction and modification of facilities to improve safety and quality through infection prevention and control

2. Advise on the infection prevention and control risk assessment criteria prior to a new build and in advance of any demolition or modification of a building consistent with current building guidance and legislation

3. Liaise with key health and social-care staff and others prior to and at every subsequent stage of the build, demolition or modification to ensure that infection prevention and control advice is effectively incorporated into the works

4. Work in partnership with the key health and social-care staff to reduce the risk of infection to individuals, populations, staff and others during construction, demolition or modification activities.

5. On the completion of the works, review with individuals, populations, staff and others the effectiveness of the development for preventing and controlling infection.

Evaluate, monitor and review the effectiveness of decontamination processes for equipment and environment

1. Provide evidence-based infection prevention and control input in the development of decontamination policies and procedures

2. Audit decontamination methods to determine their effectiveness

3. Advise on the actions that are required to improve quality and safety when decontamination processes are ineffective and the timescale in which they need to be implemented

4. Confirm that the required actions have been effectively undertaken to control infection and promote safety and quality

5. Take the necessary action to escalate concerns when there is a failure to act which compromises safety and quality.

Develop own knowledge, skills and practice

1. Identify own development needs and set own personal development objectives, including professional development

2. Develop own knowledge, skills and practice through active engagement in a range of learning and development opportunities

3. Participate in regular clinical supervision in accordance with CityCare policy

4. Participate in regular management supervision in accordance with CityCare policy

Please see attached Job Description for full details

Person Specification

Qualifications

Essential

• Registered Nurse and current registration on NMC or equivalent clinical qualification (E.g., AHP).
• Post registration study in health and / or infection control related subjects.
• Competent in using Microsoft Office packages including Microsoft Word, Excel, Microsoft Outlook Email.Degree or equivalent professional qualification in a relevant field.

Desirable

• Degree or equivalent professional qualification in a relevant field.

Experience

Essential

• Post registration experience where the following skills have been developed:
• Evidence of knowledge in area of specialism underpinned by relevant practical experience.
• Proven ability in decision making and problem solving.

Desirable

• Experience of audit processes.
• Experience of carrying out investigations.
• Recent experience of delivering training to individuals and groups.

Special Requirements

Essential

• All appointments are subject to satisfactory occupational health clearance.
• Ability to work at a desk and use general office equipment.
• Ability to lift and carry general office equipment E.g., laptop, projectors, training materials and to assist with the movement of furniture in training rooms.
• Requirement to deal with telephone calls.
• Ability to be flexible over hours worked within contracted hours to meet the needs of the service
• Ability to work out of hours
• Full driving licence and the ability to travel between locations.

Skills and Attributes

Essential

• Demonstrate skills in working with difficult groups and individuals.
• Excellent interpersonal skills and ability to communicate with people at all levels.
• Excellent written communication skills.
• Negotiation and influencing skills.
• Good organisational skills with ability to meet deadlines and prioritise own workload.
• Knowledge of current national Infection Prevention and Control Legislation.
• Flexible and adaptable to changes in working patterns
• Able to communicate and work in a diplomatic and tactful manner if required.
• Ability to self-motivate.
• Ability to manage conflict.
• Ability to work well in a team.
• Experience of change management

Disclosure and Barring Service Check

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.

UK Registration

Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).

Employer details

Employer name

Nottingham CityCare Partnership CIC

Address

Aspect House, Aspect Business Park

26 Bennerley Road

Bulwell

Nottinghamshire

NG6 8WR

Employer's website

https://www.nottinghamcitycare.nhs.uk/ (Opens in a new tab)