Infection prevention and control

About Us

Hereford Primary Care Trust places the highest priority on the prevention and control of Healthcare Associated Infections (HCAI). The Infection Prevention and Control Team exist to protect the health of service users, their carers and families, and health care staff from healthcare associated infection and transmissible infectious disease

Effective prevention and control of HCAI's has to be embedded into everyday practice and applied consistently by everyone.

Key Functions:

• Provide up to date infection control advice to all staff 
• Ensure Department of Health directives / guidance are enacted 
• Provide specialist education via Trust Induction, annual mandatory updates and specialised targeted training sessions
• In collaboration with the West Midlands West  Health Protection Unit respond operationally to communicable disease incidents 
• Reduction of risk associated with healthcare-associated infection 
• Advice relating to the care and treatment of individual patients with infection 
• Advice relating to outbreak prevention and management 
• Production, promotion and review of infection control policies, guidance and protocols 
• Audit the effectiveness of infection control policies
• Surveillance of alert organisms and infections that have the potential to spread and cause harm
• Provide clinical advice on the procurement and decontamination of medical devices
• Resource for information relating to infection prevention  and control  
• Promotion of evidence based practice

To ensure a seamless service, close working relationships are maintained with the Infection Prevention and Control Nurses in the Wye Valley NHS Trust, Microbiology, Occupational Health, the Health Protection Unit and the Consultants in Communicable Disease Control.

Working Hours

Our working hours are Monday to Friday, 9:00am - 5:00pm.

An on call Microbiology service is available out of working hours - please contact via the county Hospital switchboard on 01432 355444