The updated Care Home IPC Manual reflects on pandemic learning, emphasising the ongoing importance of Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) guidance for all those working in all care home settings. The manual is a practice guide for use in care homes. When used, it can help reduce the risk of infections and ensure the safety of residents, as well as staff and visitors in the care home environment. It is the Scottish Government expectation that care home settings apply guidance contained within this manual to achieve the aims.

Appendix 19 provides details of the remaining IPC measures advised for COVID-19 that should continue to be applied alongside the manual.

The manual currently contains Chapter 1 – Standard Infection Control Precautions (SICPs) and Chapter 2 – Transmission Based Precautions (TBPs) and it aims to:

• make it easy for staff to apply effective infection prevention and control (IPC) precautions
• help reduce the risk of infection
• reduce variation, promote standardisation, and optimise IPC practices throughout care home settings
• improve the application of staff knowledge and skills in IPC
• help align practice, monitoring, quality improvement and scrutiny

The manual is underpinned by a robust methodology ensuring content is evidence based and can be applied in practice. To highlight this an Evidence and Research section has been added to the NIPCM website platform.

If you have any questions about the Care Home IPCM then please contact us at NSS.ARHAIinfectioncontrol@nhs.scot