Reducing the Risk of Infection in the Workplace

Standard Precautions for Infection Control

During this course, we will explore how to minimise the risk of exposure to infectious materials. It is crucial to follow standard precautions to protect employees, employers, and members of the public. Key measures include:

• Treat All Bodily Fluids as Potentially Infectious: Assume that all bodily fluids from every individual could be infectious.
• Follow Your Employer's Bloodborne Pathogens Exposure Control Plan: This plan should outline:
  • Risk levels associated with occupational exposure
  • Training requirements
  • Work practice controls
  • Engineering controls
  • Procedures for handling exposure incidents

Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)

To reduce infection risk, always use your own personal protective equipment (PPE), which includes:

• Gloves
• Masks
• Eye Protection
• Aprons
• CPR Shields

Your employer should provide PPE, and you must use it correctly. Ensure you know the location of your PPE, become familiar with its use, and check that it is available and in good condition.

First Aid Kits and Emergency Supplies

Verify that first aid kits and emergency supplies include disposable gloves, face shields, or rescue masks.

Additional Infection Control Measures

Implement the following measures to further reduce the risk of infection:

• Avoid Eating or Drinking: Do not eat, drink, smoke, apply cosmetics, or handle contact lenses in areas where exposure to bloodborne pathogens is possible.
• Handle Trash Properly: Do not use your hands to compress trash in bags. Always lift and carry trash bags away from your body.
• Follow Laundry Procedures: Adhere to your facility’s procedures and wear PPE when handling laundry.
• Manage Needles and Sharps Safely: Dispose of needles and other sharps in rigid, leak-proof, puncture-resistant containers. Never bend, shear, break, or recap needles unless using the one-handed method.
• Needle Sticks Prevention Act: Use safer medical devices designed to eliminate or minimise occupational exposure.

Handling and Transporting Specimens

If you handle specimens or potentially infectious materials, you must comply with the Health and Safety at Work Act, COSHH regulations, and the Carriage of Dangerous Goods and Use of Transportable Pressure Receptacles Regulations 1996. For details on collection, labelling, despatch, and transport of specimens, consult carriers, Royal Mail, and government websites.

When sending potentially infectious material by post, ensure that plastic containers are screw-capped to minimise leakage or breakage. Consult the Post Office for the latest posting instructions for pathological material.