This Infection Prevention & Control course delves into IPC basics, legislation, and guidelines, designed for WC Healthcare Professionals. It covers preventing infection spread, standard precautions and effective response strategies in healthcare.



About the course

Course Design:
Self-directed. 


Duration: 
It will take approximately 7 hours to complete. 


Eligibility for this course: 

  • The following professionals
    • Nursing and Midwifery Professionals
    • Pharmacy Professionals
    • Social Work Professionals
    • Medical, Dental and Dietetic Professionals
    • Prosthetic and Orthotic Professionals
    • Radiography and Allied Health Professionals
    • Emergency Medical Service Providers
  • Must be registered with the relevant professional council (SANC, HPCSA, SACSSP etc)
  • Working in Western Cape


Accreditation:  
7 general CEU's on Level 1,  according to the HPCSA’s guidelines.


Certification: 
Participants need 70% pass mark for each quiz.


Published: 
February 2024

Course curriculum

This course covers the following content:

  • Introduction to the Short course on IPC
  • Legislation: Acts, regulations, national and provincial IPC policies
    • What is Infection Prevention and Control (IPC)?
    • IPC legislation and guidelines
    • What all  HCW and managers should know regarding legislation relating to IPC
    • Main functions of an infection control programme
    • Essential IPC structures
    • Training in IPC
  • Introduction to Microbiology & Transmission of pathogens
    • Understand basic of Microbiology
    • Understand modes of transmission 
    • Understand how to the chain of transmission work and what to prevent transmission
    • What human defences do we have and how it helps to protect ourselves
  • Healthcare  and community associated infections
    • What is HAI definitions and types we find in HCF
    • The more relevant HAI we find in HCF
    • Cost of HAI and savings
    • Disease transmission & management in the community
      • Oro-faecal spread
      • Vector-borne spread
      • Blood-borne spread
      • Respiratory spread
      • IPC in the community
  • Standard Precautions
    • Understand Standard precautions
    • What is involved and why do we do standard precaution with all patients
    • Understand patient environment and factors for spreading infections
    • Linen, waste management and environmental cleaning as part of Standard base precautions
  • Transmission Based Precautions
    • Understand Standard precautions with Transmission based precautions
    • Understand how the different routes of transmission work
    • Understand Healthcare requirements for Isolation
    • How do we implement it in our facilities
  • Personal Protective Equipment and Hand hygiene
    • Understand why we need to wear PPE
    • Types of PPE and how to use them
    • PPE and equipment
    • Understand Hand hygiene
    • Understand the multimodal strategy from WHO
  • Risk Management and  Risk assessment
    • What is an infection Risk?
    • What is the purpose of Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) Risk Management?
    • Describe the stages of IPC Risk Management.
    • Factors affecting IPC Risk?
    • What is the purpose of IPC policies in Risk Management?
  • Surveillance and Audits in IPC
    • Understand what surveillance is.
    • To explain the purpose of surveillance
    • Understand the surveillance priorities.
    • Understand why feedback from surveillance important.
    • Be able to explain the difference between audit and surveillance.
  • Outbreak investigation & management
    • Key definitions 
    • Goals of outbreak investigation
    • Types of outbreaks
    • Steps in outbreak investigation
    • Role of IPC in outbreak investigation
  • Hospital design and IPC WASH
    • Summary of WHO CC nr 8 on design and what factors need to be address
    • What influence a healthcare facility design
    • Explain the importance of the design of healthcare facilities in the spread of infections
    • Advise on the layout of HCF in order to reduce risk of infections
    • Types of department within a facilities
    • Furnishes and finishing


Western Cape Government Department of Health and Wellness
People Development Centre

Acknowledgements:

  • Infection Control Africa Network (ICAN)