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Please wait while the page loadsYear 1 Essentials · Free Resource
The infection-control basics you use all the time, from hand hygiene to isolation, explained in student-friendly language.
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Student note
IPC stands for infection prevention and control. Most of this topic comes back to one practical question: what stops germs moving from one place, person, or surface to another?
The single most important IPC measure — when and how?
WHO 5 Moments
Soap & Water (40–60s)
Alcohol Gel (20–30s)
Ayliffe Technique
Clinical pearl
Alcohol gel does NOT kill C. diff spores. If a patient has diarrhoea and vomiting, or is known C. diff positive, always use soap and running water instead.
What to wear, when, and in what order?
Gloves
Aprons
Surgical Mask
Eye Protection
How do infections move from person to person?
Contact
Droplet
Airborne
Chain of Infection
Red flags
Clinical pearl
Breaking any link in the chain stops spread. In day-to-day nursing, standard precautions mostly try to block the spread step and the way in.
How do you protect the parts that must stay sterile?
Key-Parts
Key-Sites
Standard ANTT
Surgical ANTT
Clinical pearl
ANTT means protecting the important clean parts by not touching the bits that must stay sterile. Think of key-parts as the equipment and key-sites as the patient.
Which organisms come up most often in hospital settings?
MRSA
C. difficile
Norovirus
TB & VRE
What are the rules, and what do you do after a needlestick?
Golden Rules
More Rules
Needlestick: Immediate
Needlestick: Follow-Up
Red flags
Donning Order (Putting ON)
Doffing Order (Taking OFF)
| # | Moment | Why |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | BEFORE touching a patient | Protect patient from your germs |
| 2 | BEFORE a clean/aseptic procedure | Protect patient from germs entering body |
| 3 | AFTER body fluid exposure risk | Protect yourself and environment |
| 4 | AFTER touching a patient | Protect yourself and environment |
| 5 | AFTER touching patient surroundings | Protect yourself and environment |
Timing reference
Alcohol hand rub: 20–30 seconds. Soap and water: 40–60 seconds. Surgical scrub: 3–5 minutes. Needlestick: attend Occupational Health within 1 hour if you can. HIV post-exposure prophylaxis needs to start within 72 hours.
IPC red flags — escalate immediately
Sources & References
WHO (2009) — Hand hygiene in healthcare — technical reference manualNICE (2017) — Healthcare-associated infections: prevention and control (NG125)NMC (2018) — The Code: Professional standards of practice and behaviour for nursesUKHSA — Standard infection control precautions (SICPs)Also practice with