Health and Social Care

Noel Anderson
1-06-2016

Health and Social Care (3)

Infection Control Guidelines in Health and Social Care

Health and social care are steadfastly becoming an important factor in the society, especially for the senior citizens and hospitalized patients. One of the most important activities that have been prevalent is the infection control in health and social care. In this post, we are going to look at the guidelines for effective infection control in both social and healthcare systems.

  • Use of Protective Equipment

Both health and community social workers are required to use protective equipment whenever they are handling potentially contaminant activities. The equipment used should be in a position to put off the risk of transmission of microorganisms and risk of contamination of the skin and clothing of the worker. According to the health care guidelines, gloves should be worn at all times regardless of the activity or procedure performed.

  • Disposal of Sharp Materials

Handling of used equipment should always be kept at minimum. This especially applies to sharp equipment like needles and razors. Needles should not be bent, recapped or broken before they are disposed of. The container for such equipment must conform with the set current standards, and they must be disposed of immediately by the person in charge. Also, the disposal containers must be located in a safe and visible location. Such containers should be away from public access places and out of reach of children.

  • General Waste Disposal

Social and health care workers are required to have disposal materials that meet the set current standards. The waste should be isolated immediately into appropriate color-coded storage equipment. The waste should be sorted out and labeled based on physical and chemical properties. The waste should then be transported and disposed of based on the set national waste disposal guidelines. The workers are required to educate the patients and the general public on proper waste handling and disposal techniques.

  • Hand DecontaminationHealth and Social Care (1)

Hands should be decontaminated after certain activities in social and health care systems. For instance, hands must be decontaminated immediately before direct patient contact or aseptic
procedures. The hands must be decontaminated after exposure to the body fluids and immediately after any activity that could result in hands becoming contaminated.

The measures stated above are geared towards achieving effective infection control in health and social care in the society. These guidelines are provided and certified by the local authorities in charge of disease prevention and control. To receive effective care and infection control, these guidelines must part of everyday practice for health and social care workers.