Infection prevention and control has been a key aspect of clinical practice for years and has been viewed as the responsibility of a small number of individuals in the acute healthcare sector.
As healthcare delivery evolves and prevention of healthcare associated infection (HCAI) increasingly becomes a priority for health and social care providers, it has become clear that the role of infection prevention and control (IPC) practitioners needs to develop in response. IPC practitioners are no longer only from a nursing background, they come from a wide range of professions and occupations, bringing additional skills and knowledge from their own practice. However, all staff working in this area require standard competences to enable them to practise safely and with credibility in the infection prevention and control arena. In response to this need, in partnership with all four UK Governments, Skills for Health and the Council of Deans, the Infection Prevention Society (IPS) has recently created a set of competences designed to enhance the practice of staff working in infection prevention and control. The competency framework is structured against the four domains within the Advance Practitioner toolkit for Modernising Nursing Careers:
• Clinical Practice – (6 competences).
• Education – (4 competences).
• Research – (3 competences).
• Leadership and Management – (4 competences).
Each competence comprises of a competence statement; performance indicators aligned to each statement; generic and specific knowledge understanding and skills needed to meet the competence; alignment to Skills for Health, National Occupational Standards and the NHS Knowledge and Skills Framework. The competences can be used in a variety of ways and by a range of professionals, from recently appointed infection prevention and control practitioners, through to managers of healthcare services, educational commissioners and providers, as well as practitioners working at or near advanced level of practice. Organisations which are looking to develop staff with the expertise to drive forward the infection prevention and control agenda will also find this framework a valuable tool. The competence framework is now available free of charge in electronic format from the Infection Prevention Society on www.ips.uk.net
