CNO Newsletter March 2011 - Department of Health, Social ...

NEWSInfection prevention and controlhas been a key aspect of clinicalpractice for many years and hastraditionally been viewed as theresponsibility of a small numberof designated individuals based inthe acute healthcare sector. As thelandscape of healthcare deliveryhas evolved and prevention ofhealthcare associated infectionhas become more of a priority forhealth and social care providers ithas become clear that the role ofinfection prevention and controlpractitioners needs to develop inresponse.Practitioners in this field now comefrom a wide range of professionsand occupations, bringing skillsand knowledge from their ownspheres of practice. However, theystill require key competences toenable them to practise safelyand with clinical credibility in theinfection prevention and controlarena.In response to this need, theInfection Prevention Society (IPS)has recently produced a set ofcore competences designed toenhance the practice of staffworking in the field of infectionprevention and control. They havebeen developed in partnership withall four UK governments, Skills forHealth and the Council of Deans,chaired by the Chief NursingOfficer for Scotland, Ros Moore.The competency framework isbased on the four domains withinthe Advanced Practitioner toolkit(Scottish Government, 2008) forModernising Nursing Careers:• Clinical Practice (6competences)• Education (4 competences)• Research (3 competences)Journal ofInfection PreventionOutcome competences for practitioners in infection prevention and controlInfection Prevention Society and Competency Steering GroupLead Coordinator: E Burnettwww.ips.uk.netFormerly the British Journal of Infection ControlOutcomeCompetencesfor Practitionersin InfectionPrevention andControlJIP-395797.indd i 1/17/2011 1:10:57 PM• Leadership and Management (4competences)Each competence comprises• A competence statement• Performance indicators alignedto each statement• Generic and specific knowledgeunderstanding and skillsneeded to meet the competence• Alignment to Skills for Health,National OccupationalStandards and the NHSKnowledge and SkillsFramework (Skills for Health2010; Department of Health2004)The competences may be used ina variety of ways and by a rangeof professionals from recentlyappointed infection prevention andcontrol practitioners, through tomanagers of health care services,educational commissioners andproviders as well as practitionersworking at or near advanced levelof practice. Organisations whichare looking to develop staff withthe expertise to drive forwardthe infection prevention andcontrol agenda may also find thisdocument a useful tool.The competency framework isavailable in both electronic formand hard copy in the Marchedition of the Journal of InfectionPrevention. Electronic access isfree to all and can be located onthe IPS website http://www.ips.uk.netNorthern Ireland have been fullyengaged in this initiative throughits Infection Prevention Societymembers and with full supportof the DHSSPS and the ChiefNursing Officer. In 2009 theDepartment commissioned NIPECto carry out a review of InfectionPrevention and Control Training inNorthern Ireland, and one of therecommendations is to, “determinethe training needs of IPC specialistpractitioners, taking into accountthe Infection Prevention NursesAssociation Core Competencies forPractitioners in Infection Preventionand Control (ICNA, 2004).”These competences will providea framework for the regionaldevelopment and commissioningof Infection Prevention and Controleducation programmes to be led bythe Public Health Agency.Grateful thanks to Emma Burnett,Lead Co-ordinator, IPS Educationand Professional DevelopmentCommittee, Lecturer andResearcher, University of DundeeSchool of Nursing and Midwifery.18