Leaflet on Infection Control & Environmental Safety
Infection Control
A list of routes by which infections can enter the body:

In order for the spread of infectious diseases to take place the ‘chain of infection’ must be completed.

The first link in the chain is the causative agent. This is the harmful germ or pathogen that can cause infection, illness and disease. Examples include bacteria and viruses.

The second link is the reservoir or source. This is where pathogens live and multiply. Remember, that could be in or on a person or animal (host), or in soil or water.

The third link is the means of exit. This is how pathogens leave the source. For example, pathogens that live in the respiratory tract (the lungs, throat, etc.) can leave the body through the mouth or nose in saliva or mucus when coughing or sneezing. Other examples of means of exit are broken skin, mucous membranes such as the eyes, via the stomach and via the intestines and anus.

The mode of transmission is the fourth link in the chain. It refers to how the pathogen is passed on from one person to another. Contact transmission is the most common route of transmission of pathogens in a health and social care workplace. This can happen by direct (hands) or indirect contact (equipment). Pathogens such as those that cause influenza and chicken pox can stay in the air for a long time and can be breathed in by other people.

The fifth link is the portal of entry. This is the way that the pathogen enters the body of the potential host. Pathogens can enter the body by coming into contact with broken skin, being breathed in or eaten, coming into contact with the eyes, nose and mouth or, for example when needles or catheters are inserted.

The sixth and final link in the chain is a person at risk. A person at risk is the individual the pathogen moves to. The risk of a person becoming infected depends on factors such as their general health and the strength of their immune system (which is the body’s system for fighting germs and micro-organisms).
How your own health or personal hygiene may place others at risk.

You have an important role to play in preventing the spread of infections. It is your responsibility to keep up to date with your own vaccinations in line with the UK vaccination schedule, as it is part of your duty to protect the individual. If you are carrying pathogens, you can transmit them to the people you support directly or you can transfer them from other people or equipment if you do not follow correct hygiene procedures.

Illness
If you have cold or flu symptoms (such as a runny nose), an upset stomach or skin infections, you should speak to your manager before reporting for work. If you have diarrhea or vomiting you should not attend work until you have been free from symptoms for 48 hours.
Clothing
Your clothes can become contaminated with harmful microorganisms. Disposable aprons and over-sleeves should be used when handling anything contaminated with body fluids to protect clothes from contamination. Changing your clothing daily reduces the risk of remaining contaminants being spread to the individuals you provide support for. Uniforms or work clothing should be washed on a hot wash, then tumble-dried or hot ironed, to kill any bacteria present.
Personal hygiene
Personal hygiene is extremely important for people who take care of others. Daily washing, showering or bathing will remove most of the microorganisms on your skin. Hand hygiene is also extremely important. Fingernails should be kept short. Rings (apart from plain wedding bands), wristwatches or bracelets should not be worn as they make hand washing less effective.
Skin health
Micro-organisms can live on the skin. The number of pathogens increases when skin is damaged. All cuts should be covered with a waterproof dressing. Using hand cream, good quality paper towels and soaps can help to protect the skin.
Good hand habits
Having good hand habits means not touching areas that can be a source of pathogens more than you need to. These areas include your nose, hair and mouth, and not biting nails. This also applies to work practices such as using foot operated bins rather than lifting bin lids with your hands.

Here is the most effective ways to wash your hands:

For hand washing to be effective it is important that you make sure that every part of your hands are carefully washed, rinsed and dried. The steps below show you how to ensure that your hands are washed correctly:

1) First, wet your hands and wrists thoroughly using warm running water.
2) Apply liquid or foam soap.
3) Produce a good lather by rubbing your palms together, then interlock your fingers and rub together again.
4) Rub the palm of your hand ensuring that fingertips and fingernails are cleaned. Ensure that the backs of your hands are lathered and cleaned.
5) Rub with fingers locked, maintaining a good lather. Ensure that your wrists are cleaned.
6) Rinse hands thoroughly using running water.
How and when to use PPE

Your employer must provide you with the equipment you need to protect you from injury and, as far as possible, from the risk of infection while you are at work. That includes:

Enough uniforms for regular changing and disposable aprons to protect clothing and uniforms from contamination from blood and body fluids etc. Skin protecting paper towels and soaps and hand cleansing gels or wipes

The correct type of gloves to reduce the risk of cross-contamination of you and the individual you are supporting

Masks and respiratory-masks to protect you from breathing in harmful microorganisms

Goggles, eye protection and face shields – if there is a risk of being splashed with body fluids.

It is also important that you appreciate and seriously consider any vaccinations your employer might offer as part of the prevention of infections spreading. One example might be the vaccination against influenza (flu).

Environmental Safety

How to prevent and what to do in the event of:

Fire
Social care providers and carers are in a unique position to help the fire and rescue service identify those most at risk from fire and to work with us to prevent people dying or losing their homes unnecessarily.
Five points stand out.
● Everyone should have a smoke alarm fitted – if they don’t get one fitted.
● Someone who cannot move freely will struggle to escape in a fire. When considering other factors, think about fire escape.
● People who smoke are at greater risk. What support might you give to ensure their choice to smoke is as safe as possible?
● Scorch marks or, worse still, burns on a person are a sign of a near miss. Next time, the person might not be so lucky.
● If someone has lots of clutter around their home a fire may spread more rapidly. It will be harder for the person to escape.
By keeping these things in mind when social workers visit older people and by informing the local fire and rescue service, fires can be prevented and our most vulnerable people protected if they do break out.

Gas Leak
How do you detect a gas leak?
The most tell-tale sign of a leak is the smell of gas in your home. But there are also particular physical symptoms you may suffer from if there is a leak.
If you are feeling lightheaded, ill, dizzy or nauseous you should go outside immediately. If the symptoms go away in the fresh air you could be feeling the effects of a gas leak or carbon monoxide poisoning.
What should I do if I smell gas?
To avoid the worst, you should always take action immediately if you smell gas in your home.
The first step is to turn off the gas supply at your gas meter. The valve that regulates the flow of gas will be connected to your pipe at a right angle, but can sometimes be difficult to locate and/or hard to access.
That's why you should always familiarise yourself with whether your gas supply can be turned off — especially if you're in a new property or have recently made changes to the layout.
The next step is to get fresh air into your home to help disperse the gas. Open all the windows and doors and leave them open to ensure air flow.
If you can't open the windows because they're locked or for any other reason, get outside and into the fresh air as soon as possible.
While you are airing out your home, avoid using any electrical switches, as the sparks could cause an explosion. This includes light switches or electronic doorbells. Similarly, avoid smoking, using matches or burning any naked flames (e.g. candles) as they could all ignite the leaked gas.
Once you have taken these steps and dealt with the imminent danger, it is time to call in the experts. The National Gas emergency number is 0800 111 999
Finally, in the unlikely event that a fire breaks out, your first call should be to the fire service on 999.
How do I prevent gas leaks?
It is far easier to deal with a gas leak by stopping it from occurring in the first place. Your first line of defence is with your household appliances.
Always make sure they are installed by an accredited Gas Safe Register engineer, and make sure you check them on a regular basis for signs of wear and tear.
Likewise, if they do require maintenance, make sure your engineer is registered. You should also keep an audible carbon monoxide alarm in your home. These are cheap to purchase from DIY stores and look just like smoke alarms. Make sure they are installed in an open space like a hallway, and change the batteries annually.

Flood
Prepare an emergency kit including emergency numbers, insurance policy, first aid kit, torch and water. Have a list of irreplaceable items to make safe – and keep important personal documents in a sealed bag.
With careful planning, local preventative flood action can reduce, or possibly avoid, the impact of flooding. Local action could include placing of flood boards across openings; blocking airbricks; creating sandbag walls or temporary defence systems.

Intruders
Our service users can be protected from intrusion by ensuring by ensuring that they are all monitored whilst on site. Any visitors/customers are always escorted on site.
The site is locked fully up and the alarm set at the end of the day.

Security Breach

In the social care setting, patient information is extremely sensitive, with records containing social security numbers and detailed medical history. As such, an organization must have an action plan and place and always be ready to defend its infrastructure as well as respond appropriately and timely to any breaches of data.
When a breach occurs in health care, meaning that confidential data was compromised or that the use or disclosure poses a significant risk of financial, reputational, or other harm to the affected individual, then the following steps must be taken: Notify Line Manage, Manager & Head office of the type of breach. Notify the local police and file a police with report with the details. Notify the IT director, CIO, security officer, legal team, etc. In the event of an IT breach begin taking steps based on any existing procedures to isolate or shut the network down to ensure that there is no further unauthorized access.