St Mary's Medical Centre Infection Control Annual Statement 2026
This annual statement will be generated each year in accordance with the requirements of The Health and Social Care Act 2008 Code of Practice on the prevention and control of infections and related guidance. It summarises:
· Any infection transmission incidents and any action taken (these will have been reported in accordance with our Significant Event procedure)
· Details of any infection control audits undertaken, and actions undertaken
· Details of any risk assessments undertaken for prevention and control of infection
· Details of staff training
· Any review and update of policies, procedures, and guidelines
Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) Lead
St Mary's medical centre has one Lead for Infection Prevention and Control: Practice Nurse Danielle Shaw who is supported by the Antibiotics guardian Dr Rebecca Brown – GP Partner and the nursing team.
Infection transmission incidents (Significant Events)
Significant events (which may involve examples of good practice as well as challenging events) are investigated in detail to see
what can be learnt and to indicate changes that might lead to future improvements. All significant events are reviewed in the monthly staff meetings and learning is cascaded to all relevant staff.
In the past year there have been no significant events raised that related to infection control.
Infection Prevention Audit and Actions
The Annual Infection Prevention and Control audit was completed by Oldham Public health Nurse Kathleen Shields
with the presence of PN Danielle Shaw and PM Natalie Wood in January 2026. The Practice scored 96% (Green -RAG) overall and 99% for minor surgery
As a result of the audit, the following things have been implemented.
· The minor surgery room has been repainted and walls repaired.
· Replacement wipes for the baby change facility.
· PM Natalie has enquired about Waste storage outside the practice.
· We have implemented monthly waste, minor surgery and curtain audits
An audit on hand washing was last undertaken between April and May 2026 for all staff.
All Clinical staff have also updated there ANTT training between April and May 2026.
St Mary’s medical centre plan to undertake the following audits in 2026.
· Annual Infection Prevention and Control audit
· Hand hygiene audit- annually
· Monthly equipment audits
· Monthly PPE audits
· Monthly Sharps bin audit
· Fortnightly safe management of the care environment audits
· Curtain audit *NEW*
· Minor surgery audit *NEW*
Risk Assessments
Risk assessments are carried out Annually.
Legionella (Water) Risk Assessment: The practice has conducted/reviewed its water safety risk assessment to ensure that the water supply does not pose a risk to patients, visitors, or staff.
Immunisation: We take part in the National Immunisation campaigns for patients and offer vaccinations in house and via home visits to our patient population.
Curtains: The NHS Cleaning Specifications state the curtains should be cleaned or if using disposable curtains, replaced every 6 months. To this effect we use disposable curtains and ensure they are changed every 6 months. All curtains are regularly reviewed and changed if visibly soiled.
Cleaning specifications, frequencies, and cleanliness: We also have a cleaning specification and frequency policy which our cleaners and staff work to. An assessment of cleanliness is conducted by the external cleaning team and logged.
Hand washing sinks: The practice has clinical hand-washing sinks in every room for staff to use.
Training
· All our staff receive annual training in infection prevention and control.
· All clinical and non -clinical staff have completed clarity e-learning training.
· IPC lead should attend The IPC Certificate of Excellence Workshop for Primary Care Held quarterly by the local public health team
Policies
All Infection Prevention and Control related policies are in date for this year.
Responsibility
It is the responsibility of everyone to be familiar with this Statement and their roles and responsibilities under this.
Review date.
May 2027