What we do

The Infection Prevention and Control team work hard to ensure that patients receive the very highest standard of healthcare. Although the risk of getting an infection whilst in hospital is low, careful attention to infection prevention and control is a crucial part of keeping our patients safe. Although the Trust has a dedicated Infection Prevention and Control Team there are also infection prevention and control leads at Trust Board, divisional and ward levels.

The Infection Prevention and Control Team comprises of consultant microbiologists, specialist nurses and antimicrobial pharmacist headed by the Director of Infection Prevention and Control.

The Infection Prevention and Control Team is committed to preventing and minimising the spread of infection. This includes:

  • Constantly improving practice to reduce the incidence of infections acquired in hospital
  • Providing advice on the management of individual patients, or suspected outbreaks of infection
  • Robust surveillance on targeted infections reporting all results back to the frontline staff 
  • Education and training of all staff via the Trust's Induction and mandatory training programme and locally at ward and department level
  • Producing Infection Prevention & Control Policies in line with government guidelines, which are readily available to all staff via the Trust's intranet 
  • Audit of policies and guidelines to ensure that best practice is followed
  • Supporting and reassuring patients and their families using our services

You can read our Annual IPC report for 2017/18 here. 

Dr Ian Stanley - Director of Infection Prevention and Control

Beverley Aspin - Lead Infection Prevention Matron

Kirsty Holt - Infection Prevention Matron

Marie Wright - Infection Prevention Matron

John Mannion - Infection Prevention Matron

Christine Jones - Infection Prevention Nurse

Tina Cronshaw - Infection Prevention Nurse

Claire Higham - Infection Prevention Nurse

Fran Kerr - MRSA Specialist Nurse

Michelle Jones - Infection Prevention Assistant

Laura Moores - Infection Prevetion Secretary

Contact by telephone on 01254 733156

Or by post;

Infection Prevention Team

Dept. of Clinical Laboratory Medicine

Level 0

Royal Blackburn Hospital

Haslingden Road

Blackburn

BB2 3HH

MRSA and other hospital infections are usually passed on by human contact, often from the skin of the hands, which is why washing and cleaning hands is so vital reducing infection rates. Hand sanitiser dispensers are placed and entrances to all wards/departments and beside every bed.

Everyone can help combat infections by following these simple hand hygiene steps:

Always wash hands or use the  hand sanitizer before/on entering and when leaving clinical areas (such as wards) It's a very simple process - just press the button on the dispenser and rub the sanitiser into your hand, taking care to cover both the palm and backs of your hands and the skin between your fingers. The sanitiser will dry in a few of seconds, and you are free to enter the ward.

Always wash your hands after using the toilet, or before and after preparing food

If you are a patient, try to limit the number of visitors you have at any one time. The more people on our wards, the more the chance of infection spreading

Visitors please use the chairs on wards not the beds

If you are concerned that staff are not cleaning their hands or adhering to infection control procedures, please remind them as they may have forgotten. They may also remind you in a friendly way!

If soap or hand towels are not available, or if the bathroom and toilet facilities are not clean, please tell a member of staff

Stay at home if you have a cold, infection or stomach upset and only visit if you have been free from symptoms for at least 48 hours

Tell a staff member if you have any particular concerns about infection prevention and control

If you are prescribed antibiotics, make sure you finish the full course, even if you feel better part way through, as otherwise not all the bacteria will be killed and those that do survive may develop a resistance to the drug