Infection prevention and control
Welcome to the RCN's infection control web pages. Here you can find latest news and guidance on infection prevention as well as resources and downloads that will help you prevent and control infection.
The RCN considers infection prevention and control to be a core element of quality, patient safety and governance systems and as such it is one of the RCN's key areas of activity. The role of the nurse adviser is to support, enhance and promote excellence in nursing practice in this field.
What is infection prevention and control?
Infection prevention and control is the clinical application of microbiology in practice. Infection or disease may be caused by bacteria, fungi, viruses or prions and can result in a wide variety of infections, for example, urinary tract, wound, respiratory, blood, bone and skin infections.
Not all infections are transmissible but some, such as C. difficile, influenza and norovirus have the potential to spread from one patient to another, causing infection. This has additional significant implications for healthcare organisations, facilities or nursing homes. Understanding how infections occur and how different micro-organisms act and spread is crucial to preventing infections. As nurses, midwives and healthcare assistants, prevention is our primary aim.
Your feedback is needed
These web pages are new and are being updated and expanded according to your needs. We welcome your feedback and ideas on improving the service we provide to you as members. Please email ipc@rcn.org.uk with your suggestions on how we can improve this resource for you.
Join us
We now have over 1000 members. To join the rapidly expanding RCN Infection Prevention and Control Network please email ipc@rcn.org.uk with your name and either your membership number or date of birth. To unsubscribe, please email us and your details will be removed.
Churchill Travelling Fellowships - applications for 2014 now open
In response to the recent Francis and Care Quality Commission reports and concerns raised by the public, health care professionals and politicians, the Winston Churchill Memorial Trust (WCMT) is seeking to support a new category of travelling fellowships focusing on patient care.
The WCMT plans to award ten travelling fellowships each year from 2014 for three years to individuals in the medical, nursing and social professions. The fellowships will support projects to improve the way people are treated in medical and social care, and the WCMT is particularly looking for projects with an emphasis on respect for the dignity of the patient and projects addressing leadership and team working. These fellowships give recipients the opportunity to visit centres of excellence abroad, gain knowledge, and return with ideas that could have an impact on improving patient care in the UK.
The Burdett Trust for Nursing is co-funding these fellowships, and is working with both the Foundation of Nursing Studies and the RCN to best co-ordinate and disseminate the key findings of the fellowship projects.
Applications for 2014 are now open on the Winston Churchill Memorial Trust website and close at 5pm on Tuesday 24 September. Please select 'Medicine - Patient Care' on the application form.