Infection control 2

Prevention and Control of Infection in the laboratory

Evidence 1: For this piece of evidence you will need to explain the different ways a colleague with heavy cold (who is sneezing) could potentially transmit their viral infecetion to others. You will also need to think about what could be done to prevent and avoid the infection from spreading.

Use the following information (taken from part one of the Certificate of Achievement) to help with your explanation:

The most common modes (routes) of spread in the laboratory are due to:

Inhalation (aerosols)
Inoculation (sharps, cuts etc.)
Contact (hands or surfaces)
Ingestion (smoking, eating)

Wearing appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE) blocks many potential routes of exposure.

Many of the principles adopted for infection control rely on what is termed ‘Standard infection control precautions’ and these include:

Using PPE
Hand washing
Safe management of equipment and workspaces (e.g. cleaning and disinfection)
Safe management of blood and body fluid spillages
Occupational safety: prevention management (e.g. inoculations)
Safe disposal of waste (including sharps)
Using the above information example how the cold could be spread

1. A colleague with a heavy cold who is sneezing:

Explain how they could transmit the infection to others (think about the common modes of spread).

What can be done to avoid this? (think about 'Standard Infecetion Control Precautions).

Evidence 2: For this piece of evidence, you will need to list 3 sources of laboratory infection - common sources of infection in the laboratory could include:

Laboratory samples (e.g. leaking highly infectious blood samples)
Environment (e.g. poorly cleaned work benches)
Other staff and visitors (e.g. cold or flu)
Equipment (poorly maintained or damaged)

Have a look around your workplace and try and identify 3 potential sources of infection to complete the table below:

2. Potential sources of laboratory infection:

Evidence 3: Describe the key principles of good personal hygiene in the prevention and control of infection:

The human body can provide places for disease-causing germs and parasites to grow and multiply. It is less likely that germs and parasites will get inside the body if people have good personal hygiene habits.

As a care worker, you will have close contact with vulnerable individuals, so it is important that you have a good and consistent standard of personal hygiene to help prevent the spread of infection.

Good personal hygiene includes:

Proper hand washing before and after tasks
Regular bathing/showering to keep skin clean
Keeping hair clean and tied back
Wearing clean clothing / ensuring uniforms are washed between shifts
Only wearing uniforms / PPE in the workplace
Not smoking in clothes / uniform worn at work
Not wearing jewellery at work
Keeping fingernails trimmed and clean
Cleaning the teeth daily
Respiratory Hygiene (Cough / sneezing etiquette)

Chose any 5 from the list above and describe their importance in helping prevent and control the spread of infection.

3. Personal hygiene in the prevention and control of infection:

Evidence 4: Describe the process for carrying out a risk assessment and the importance of doing so.

The following information may help with your understanding:

What is a Risk Assessment?

A risk assessment is an organised approach to evaluating all the risks that may be involved with an activity in your workplace - it is an important process in protecting staff and visitors to our Trust. The Health and Safety Executive says “a risk assessment is nothing more than a careful examination of what, in your work, could cause harm to people”.

What is the difference between a 'hazard' and a 'risk'?

A hazard is something that can cause harm, e.g. electricity, chemicals, working up a ladder, noise, a keyboard, a bully at work, stress, etc. A risk is the chance, high or low, that any hazard will actually cause somebody harm.

What is a risk rating?

A Risk Rating is a way of measuring the risk associated with a certain activity. It works by using a simple multiplication:

Consequence (or severity) x likelihood = Risk score

Clearly any activity that scores in red will need your urgent attention – ideally all activities carried out in the workplace should be green.

Control measures

Red and ambers scores will need additional control measures implemented to get scores to an acceptable green level. Control measures could be as simple as wearing PPE, using disinfectants or working in pairs for example.

It must be remembered however; that some activities will remain high risk in their nature even after appropriate controls are in place (e.g. working with explosives or electricity) so it is important that all the control measures in place are followed to reduce the risk of injury to as low as level as is practically possible.

Risk assessments

When producing your risk assessments, it is important you use your local templates (usually found as annexes within your local trust risk assessment policy).

All risk assessments must include the following minimum elements:

Title
Date it was produced / approved
Staff groups affected (e.g. mortuary staff, visitors, porters etc)
Location (e.g. department affected or area within department)
Risk / Hazards (remember to include brief description of each hazard)
Controls used (current and any additional ones for managing each hazard)
Risk scores:
Before any controls in place
After currents controls in lace
Date of next review
Name of who completed the assessment

Carrying out a risk assessment for a certain activity involves 5 steps:

Checking / identifying hazards associated with the activity
Who may be harmed and why?
Evaluating the risks (risk score)
Establish control measures
Review the risk assessment on a regular basis

Evidence 4 continued: Describe each of the 5 steps above for carrying out a risk assessment explaining its importance.

4. Steps for carrying out a risk assessment:

Sign off: After you have collected each piece of evidence, hand them into your trainer / mentor who will then countersign them. Please note that they may ask for additional evidence or ask you follow up questions. Also ensure that:

You have date and signed your work
You only submit evidence for checking once it is completed (you may take individual evidence pieces out of your portfolio)
Ensure any countersigned checked work is returned back (in order) to your portfolio

Try not to hand in multiple pieces of evidence for marking at once - this will create too much work for your trainer / mentor, instead spread submissions out throughout your training.

Trainer notes: Ensure the candidates line manager completes the 'Line Manager's Comments' section as each module in the portfolio is completed - continuous assessment of the candidates work is required throughout the training period.