We’d like to introduce you to some of our Infection Prevention and Control Champions, working hard to keep our people and patients safe.
With close to 50 different sites across the Midlands, our DHU Infection Control team has a tough task ensuring all areas comply with our exacting standards, which is where our Champions come in. Carrying out Infection prevention and Control (IPC) audits and inspections alongside their day job, they are able to keep standards high and the IPC messages on track.
Sarah Goodwin is DHU’s Clinical Mandatory Trainer, she explains: “We have around 20 IC Champions who all have a responsibility for a certain area or building, for example I personally have several areas including Ashgate Manor in Chesterfield and our UTC at Chesterfield Royal Hospital. We have protected time to be able to carry out the role that helps support the team in maintaining and improving standards.
“Our Champions cover as many geographies and sites as we can and we provide them with the training they need to carry out the role. They will carry out monthly audits where they’ll check things like the décor and flooring to make sure it’s all intact and properly cleaned. They’ll also look at desk space, keyboards, surfaces, make sure that there are anti-bacterial wipes within easy reach so that people can wipe their own work areas clean.
“They’ll also be able to assess the individuals and take people to task if their hair isn’t up above their shoulders, make sure colleagues are bare below the elbow, that kind of thing. It’s not about tripping people up, it’s about holding our people to account to the standards expected of them by the IPC team.”
The IPC Champions cover clinical and non-clinical areas across all hours and from different professional backgrounds. The first audits were introduced in February 2024 and the IPC team are keen to grow their ranks of Champions and say that any DHU colleagues with an interest in the subject can get involved and learn more.
Sarah added: “It’s an important part of our quality assurance, making sure we’re all doing what we should be doing to embed those standards completely and create improvement. They do a very important job as it prepares our people for inspections, ensures we’re compliant and we are making more of an effort to ensure our IPC Champions are more visible and conduct their work in a more structured way.
“This role is developmental as well, our people are learning new skills relating to teaching and leadership at the same time as benefitting DHU. Helping to prevent the spread of infection is an essential way of protecting our workforce and our patients.”