Infection Prevention and Control – Level 2 – Online Course – CPD Accredited

Infection Prevention and Control – Level 2 – Online Course – CPD Accredited

Welcome to our online Infection Prevention and Control – Level 2 training course for front-line healthcare and social care providers. All our online training courses, programmes and qualifications are accredited by the CPD Certification Service (CPDUK).

The risk of infection within a healthcare setting poses a significant risk to patients, carers and staff. Without effective infection prevention and control approaches, an infection can cause distress, harm, and impair the quality of life and healthcare experiences. Infection frequently requires additional costly resources to treat. Therefore, prevention of infection has to be a key priority for all staff groups working within a healthcare setting.

Consequently, ensuring that all staff have high levels of infection prevention and control awareness, supported through an adequate education and training approach, should form a central feature of any infection prevention and control strategy.

Certificate duration: 2 years

Entry requirements: No entry restrictions

Recommended prerequisites: N/A

Assessment type: End of course assessment

Assessment pass mark – 80% needed to pass and gain a CPD certificate

Cost(s) of assessment and certification – All costs included in the course price

Awarding/Accrediting body – CPD Certification Service (CPDUK)

Infection Prevention and Control – Level 2 – Online Course – CPD Accredited.

Course aims

The aims and objectives of this online Infection Prevention and Control – Level 2 training course are to improve the awareness of universal procedures required to prevent and minimise the spread of infections.

Health care workers can take steps to prevent the spread of infectious diseases. These steps are part of infection control. Proper handwashing is the most effective way to prevent the spread of infections in hospitals. Standard precautions are a set of infection control practices used to avoid transmission of diseases that can be acquired by contact with blood, body fluids, non-intact skin (including rashes), and mucous membranes.

Learning outcomes

Learning outcomes of these online Infection Prevention and Control – Level 2 training course are divided into two levels. Each level reflects a level of expected knowledge, skill and understanding. The appropriate level of training is dependent upon the role, work context and local risk assessment.

Level 1 learning outcomes reflect a basic standard which should be incorporated into infection prevention and control training for all staff, including contractors and volunteers.

Level 2 learning outcomes reflect a further standard which should be incorporated into infection prevention and control training for all healthcare staff and other staff groups who provide direct patient care.

Infection prevention and control Level 1 course

Infection Prevention and Control Level 1 online training course is for all staff, including contractors and unpaid and voluntary staff.

On completion of this online ‘Infection Prevention and Control’ course, the learner will:

• Know how individuals can contribute to infection prevention and control,
• Know of and demonstrate the standard infection prevention and control precautions relevant to their role, including:
  
  • Hand Hygiene o Personal Protective Equipment (PPE),
  • Management of Blood and Body Fluid Spillage,
  • Management of Occupational Exposure (including sharps),
  • Management of the Environment o Management of Care Equipment, and
• Recognise and act when their fitness to work may pose a risk of infection to others.

Infection Prevention and Control – Level 2 course

The online Infection Prevention and Control – Level 2 training course is for all health and care staff providing direct patient care and other relevant staff, based upon role and local risk assessment (Level 1 outcomes plus the following).

The learner will, relevant to their role:

• Be able to describe the healthcare organisation’s and their responsibilities in terms of current infection prevention and control legislation,
• Know how to obtain information about infection prevention and control within the organisation,
• Understand what is meant by the term healthcare-associated infections,
• Understand the chain of infection and how this informs infection prevention and control practice,
• Demonstrate an understanding of the routes of transmission of micro-organisms,
• Understand individual roles and responsibilities for the three levels of decontamination,
• Use single-use items appropriately,
• Be able to conduct a risk assessment in respect of ensuring infection prevention and control,
• Explain different alert organisms and conditions that pose an infection risk, and
• Describe how to manage patients with specific alert organisms safely.

Where applicable to the role

Apply appropriate health and safety measures, standard precautions for infection prevention and control in obtaining specimens from individuals. NB: It is to be noted that, in some healthcare settings, Infection Prevention and Control – Level 2 learning outcomes may not be relevant for some clinical roles, e.g. Community Healthcare. It is the organisation’s discretion to agree on which learning outcomes are appropriate and, therefore, required.

Why is this online Infection Prevention and Control – Level 2 course important?

The risk of infection within a healthcare setting poses a significant risk to patients, carers and staff. Without effective infection prevention and control approaches, an infection can cause distress, harm, and impair the quality of life and healthcare experiences. Infection frequently requires additional costly resources to treat. Therefore, prevention of infection has to be a key priority for all staff groups working within a healthcare setting. Consequently, ensuring that all staff have high levels of infection prevention and control awareness, supported through an adequate education and training approach, should form a central feature of any infection prevention and control strategy.

Infection control is the discipline concerned with preventing nosocomial or healthcare-associated infection, a practical (rather than academic) sub-discipline of epidemiology. It is an essential, though often under-recognised and under-supported, part of the infrastructure of health care.

Infection control in the workplace aims to prevent pathogens from being passed from one person to another. The foundation of reasonable infection control is to assume that everyone is potentially infectious. Basic infection control procedures include hand washing and keeping the workplace clean and include standard precautions such as:

• Hand hygiene,
• Personal protective equipment (PPE),
• Injection safety,
• Environmental cleaning,
• Respiratory hygiene/cough etiquette, and
• Transmission-based precautions (e.g. contact, droplet, and airborne).

Hand washing is an essential procedure in the prevention and minimisation of the spread of infection within health care settings. Gloves are worn as a barrier to protect the wearer’s hands from contamination or to prevent the transfer of organisms already on the hands.

What is covered in this course?

This online Infection Prevention and Control – Level 2 training course covers the following:

• An introduction to infection prevention and control,
• Why infection prevention and control is essential,
• Healthcare-associated infections (HAIs),
• The ‘chain of infection’ and how to ‘break the chain’,
• Standard/universal precautions for infection prevention and control,
• Safe and appropriate use of personal protective equipment (PPE),
• Management and safe disposal of clinical waste,
• Safe management of body fluid spillages,
• Management of laundry in clinical environments,
• Effective environmental cleaning and decontamination,
• Safe use and disposal of sharps,
• Management of sharps injuries,
• Importance of practising effective hand hygiene,
• The World Health Organisation’s (WHO) ‘Five Moments’ for hand hygiene,
• Common barriers to effective hand hygiene in clinical environments,
• Recommended hand hygiene techniques,
• Appropriate hand hygiene products and facilities,
• How the personal health and fitness of healthcare workers can be a risk to others, and
• Where to find additional information about infection prevention and control (online learning resources).

Infection Prevention and Control – Level 2 – Online Course – CPD Accredited.

This online Infection Prevention and Control – Level 2 training course should be completed by those who work in health and social care services, including:

• NHS medical, nursing, AHP and care staff,
• Locum doctors and nurses,
• Locum allied health professionals (AHPs),
• Agency nurses,
• Agency workers,
• Healthcare assistants,
• Support workers,
• Care assistants, and
• Community services.

Infection Prevention and Control – Level 2 – Online Course – CPD Accredited.

Learn anywhere, anytime on any device

You will need access to a desktop computer, laptop, tablet or smartphone device to complete these online courses. You can start, pause/stop and return to where you left off.

Our courses utilise responsive design features, making them available on any device of your choice.

Infection Prevention and Control – Level 2 – Online Course – CPD Accredited.

Our online courses and programmes range from introductory modules at Level 1 (awareness/beginner) to advanced and expert modules up to Level 6.

Our e-learning modules count towards CPD hours for professionals in various sectors as well as meeting mandatory and statutory requirements (where relevant).

Infection Prevention and Control – Level 2 – Online Course – CPD Accredited.