Within this task I am going to identify and briefly explain key aspects of legislation and guidelines relevant to the prevention and control of infection within a nursing home.
P4 infection prevention and control - Kate
Within this task I am going to identify and briefly explain key aspects of legislation
and guidelines relevant to the prevention and control of infection within a nursing
home.
The Public Health (Control of Diseases) Act (1984)
This piece of legislation ensures that procedures are put into place to ensure that
there is adequate control over reducing infection within a nursing home.
Procedures that are put in place within a nursing home due to this act consist of;
Insuring that infected clothing and equipment are dealt with in the safest
manor that would prevent the risk of infection spreading, causing harm to
other residents or staff within the home.
Infectious waste is disposed of in the correct way i.e. yellow bags for soiled
waste, red bags for clothing of individuals with MRSA or C.Diff.
If there is an infection breakout isolation procedures must be followed to
reduce the severity of the spreading.
The nursing home is to be up to standards with cleanliness to reduce the risk
of infection occurring as the residents within nursing homes are vulnerable to
infection due to weak immune systems.
Insuring that there is clean water and toilets available.
The Public Health (infectious diseases) regulation (1988)
This piece of legislation ensures that infection and illnesses are controlled within a
nursing home. It does this by ensuring that data is collected for infectious diseases in
certain areas and monitored so the illness does not get out of control. Health care
organizations are informed of these records so that they know what illnesses to
expect in specific areas, they may also be advised on how to resolve the issue of an
outbreak occurring. Moreover all infectious diseases that are recognized by the piece
of legislation are notifiable meaning that any outbreak should be reported to the
authorities as soon as possible. Thus showing how this piece of legislation is very
important.
Food Safety Act (1990)
This piece of law is very important within a nursing home as the residents are usually
weak and more susceptible to illness and therefore there needs to be extreme care
when preparing and serving food. For example you would not give elderly people
any type of raw or partially cooked eggs as they could contain harmful bacteria that
could be life threatening to them.
This act ensures that any food served is fit for human consumption and not rotting or
out of date moreover it ensures high standards for the preparing and serving of food.
If these standards are not met then the nursing home would be closed down due to
putting residents at risk of poisoning. Additionally this act restricts any infected food
handlers (infected with a contagious illness) from handling food in the premises until
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