Infection control involves doing everything possible to prevent Healthcare-Associated Infections (HCAI) from being spread by health care workers. It is the responsibility of everyone working in health care to comply with simple but effective infection control measures, which are vital to protect you from cross-infection.

All health care workers in the community, delivering health and social care, must assess and manage associated risks of infection to prevent unavoidable infections, and it is the role of the Infection Control Team to offer support, advice and education to the health community in North East Lincolnshire.

Our Aim

To ensure best practice in infection control amongst health care workers to reduce the spread of infections

What does the Community Infection Control Team do?

The Infection Prevention & Control Team helps and supports healthcare workers, including community nurses, GPs, care home staff, school nurses and many others in the community.

We provide training and education in preventing infections, including regular observations of their practice. The Infection Control team monitors standards of practice to try and reduce the incidence of infection in line with the Department of Health targets.

The team investigates incidences of infections to see if there are any lessons to be learnt, this may include looking at treatments prescribed, such as antibiotics and whether they were appropriate.

There is a growing concern about the resistance of bacteria to antibiotics, and everyone should be aware that antibiotics should be prescribed carefully.

If you are prescribed antibiotics, make sure you follow the instructions and complete the course. Inform your GP if you have problems with the treatment.

The importance of hand hygiene

Regular, careful hand washing is vital to prevent the spread of infections. The purpose of hand washing is to remove or destroy harmful micro-organisms that may have been picked up during activities, thus preventing their transmission to oneself, others or the environment. It is the single most important measure that health care workers can undertake to prevent cross-infection.

Who is eligible?

The service is available for people who are registered with a GP and residing in North East Lincolnshire and who have an infection.

Patients are referred to us if they have been diagnosed with an infection. Our team then liaises with their GP to have treatment organised. For those infections that are more difficult to treat, the microbiologist is involved too.

Any health professional can also contact us to refer a patient, ask for advice or for support with a specific infection.

Once the infection has been treated, the patient is discharged from our service.

Referrals can be made either by phone or by email.