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Infection control training for over one million NHS staff

The new Chief Nursing Officer Chris Beasley has announced that over one million NHS staff will receive infection control training to help in the fight against MRSA.

All staff covered by the new NHS pay scheme Agenda for Change - including nurses, porters, cleaners and healthcare assistants - must show that they are able to reduce the risk of healthcare associated infections, including MRSA.

"Tackling hospital acquired infections is my top priority, and I have set out a number of ways to do this in the Matron's Charter, published last month," said Beasley. "However, there is another front on which we will fight MRSA: through Agenda for Change. The proposed new Knowledge and Skills Framework - a key part of the Agenda for Change package - will help staff to recognise how they can play a part in maintaining high standards of cleanliness in the NHS.

"All staff covered by Agenda for Change, whether nurses, healthcare assistants, porters or cleaners, must show that they can develop and apply the appropriate knowledge and skills to reduce the risks of healthcare associated infections. Personal development plans will give staff and managers an opportunity to identify how to raise standards of cleanliness.

"So Agenda for Change will not just be good for nurses' pay and careers but it will also be another weapon against the the number one concern for patients."

Chris Beasley was speaking on the first day of the Chief Nursing Officer's conference, held Wednesday to Friday last week in Manchester.

The NHS Knowledge and Skills Framework is a tool providing a means of recognising the broad skills and knowledge that a person needs to apply to be effective in a particular NHS post. The framework will be applicable across the range of NHS posts covered by Agenda for Change, and is designed to ensure better links between education, development, career and pay progression.

The aim is that staff will:

• have clear and consistent development objectives;
• be helped to develop in such a way that they can apply the knowledge and skills appropriate to their job;
• be helped to identify and develop knowledge and skills that will support their career progression and encourage lifelong learning.

Staff will have annual development reviews provided by their line manager and they will be able to agree personal development plans.

Blood borne MRSA infection rates to be halved by 2008 - Reid

Also speaking at the Chief Nursing Officer's conference was Health Secretary, John Reid. He announced a new objective to dramatically reduce MRSA bloodstream infections in hospitals by March 2008.

"I have made it clear that lowering rates of healthcare acquired infections, such as MRSA is a top priority, and that the Government is committed to a relentless campaign to control MRSA," said Reid. "We were the first Government to introduce and publish figures on the compulsory monitoring of healthcare associated infections, hospital by hospital so that we could measure MRSA infections.

"With that in mind, it is now time to go even further. I expect MRSA bloodstream infection rates to be halved in our hospitals by 2008. NHS Acute Trusts will be tasked with achieving a year on year reduction up to and beyond March 2008."

"This is extremely challenging. All trusts will have to identify high-risk sources of infection and draw up comprehensive action plans to prevent or isolate MRSA in order to achieve this reduction.

"I do not regard this as something which is the responsibility only of one group of workers or one political party. It is naturally a challenge to us all, but at the centre of this are our hospitals and the staff who work in them. Nurses, doctors and other infection control staff will be in the front line of this drive to fight hospital infections.

"Everyone has a role to play - hospital cleaners are as important as consultants when it comes to these issues."

Responding yesterday to the announcement by John Reid, Anna Walker, chief executive of the Healthcare Commission, said:

"The Healthcare Commission welcomes the introduction of this important new target. MRSA and hospital acquired infection are extremely serious health concerns and it is right that the Government has decided to tackle this as a priority. We welcome the opportunity to monitor the implementation of this target and we will be reporting publicly on what we find.

"In addition to monitoring implementation of the new target, the Healthcare Commission will be carrying out reviews on cleanliness and hospital acquired infection with a view to identifying good practice and driving improvement where there is still more work to be done.

"We will be working in partnership with the NHS and the National Patient Safety Agency to ensure understanding of how to reduce hospital acquired infection is implemented to provide a safer healthcare environment for patients."

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