The UK Health Security Agency has published new guidance aimed at improving 'non-specialist' understanding of infection prevention and outbreak management legal and public health duties across care settings
The UK Health Security Agency has published new guidance aimed at improving understanding of infection prevention and outbreak management across adult social care settings in England, including care homes, supported living services, domiciliary care and day centres.
The agency said the guidance, Understanding and managing infection in adult social care, published this week, is designed to provide a ‘clear and consistent’ explanation of the legal and public health arrangements surrounding infectious diseases for providers, commissioners, policymakers and other stakeholders.
UKSHA said the new document aims to improve understanding of health protection terminology and infectious disease management, while supporting the consistent application of existing guidance on specific infection risks.
It added the adult social care operates across a ‘broad and complex landscape’ of regulated and non-regulated services, creating ongoing challenges for providers managing infection risks among vulnerable people who access care and support.
Legal and regulatory responsibilities
The guidance brings together information on providers' legal obligations and links these to existing regulatory requirements.
UKHSA said the resource should be read alongside Care Quality Commission (CQC) requirements, including Regulation 9A, which sets out providers' responsibilities to respect people's rights to receive visitors and be accompanied.
It also references existing UKHSA advice on safer visiting during infectious illness outbreaks, underlining existing advice that visiting should be recognised as a fundamental aspect of care, wellbeing and human rights, and that restrictions should be proportionate, based on risk assessments and implemented only where risks cannot be sufficiently mitigated.
