IPC Annual Statement Report

IPC Annual Statement Report – 08/04/2025

Purpose

This annual statement will be generated each year in April, in accordance with the requirements of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 Code of Practice on the prevention and control of infections and related guidance. The report will be published on the organisation’s website and will include the following summary:

  • Any infection transmission incidents and any action taken (these will have been reported in accordance with our significant event procedure)
  • Details of any infection control audits carried out and actions undertaken
  • Details of any risk assessments undertaken for the prevention and control of infection
  • Details of staff training
  • Any review and update of policies, procedures and guidelines

Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) lead  

The lead for infection prevention and control at Wellinton Road Surgery is Sister Sophie Ludlow-Rhodes.

The IPC lead is supported by Sister Melanie Cowley.

a. Infection transmission incidents (significant events)

Significant events involve examples of good practice as well as challenging events.

Positive events are discussed at meetings to allow all staff to be appraised in areas of best practice.

Negative events are managed by the staff member who either identified or was advised of any potential shortcoming. This person will complete a Significant Event Analysis (SEA) form which commences an investigation process to establish what can be learnt and to indicate changes that might lead to future improvements.

All significant events are reviewed and discussed at several meetings each month. Any learning points are cascaded to all relevant staff where an action plan, including audits or policy review, may follow.

In the past year, there have been 0 significant events raised which related to infection control. There have also been 0 complaints made regarding cleanliness or infection control.

 

b. Infection prevention audit and actions

Wellington Road Surgery plans and conducts cleaning audits based on the cleaning frequencies for the functional risk category.

The use of electronic audit tools are used to ensure compliance against the standard and any negative outcome identified during audit is communicated and actioned.

 

Audits

Hand Hygiene Audit– Monthly

Cleanliness of the Environment Audit– Monthly/as required

IPC Self-Assessment Audit– Annually

Minor surgery IPC Audit- Annually

 

c. Risk assessments 

Risk assessments are carried out so that any risk is minimised and made to be as low as is reasonably practicable. Additionally, a risk assessment that can identify best practice can be established and then followed.

In the last year, the following risk assessments were carried out/reviewed:

  • General IPC risks
  • Staffing, new joiners and ongoing training
  • COSHH
  • Cleaning standards
  • Privacy curtain cleaning or changes
  • Cleaning equipment compliance
  • Staff vaccinations
  • Water Safety- Legionellosis Management & Control Log-Book

In the next year, the following risk assessments will also be reviewed:

All the above

d. Training 

In addition to staff being involved in risk assessments and significant events, at Wellington Road, all staff and contractors receive IPC induction training on commencing their post. Thereafter, all staff receive refresher training annually.

Various elements of IPC training in the previous year have been delivered at the following times: Annually

e. Policies and procedures

The infection prevention and control-related policies and procedures that have been written, updated or reviewed in the last year include, but are not limited, to:

Safe management of the care environment, waste management, pest control, hand hygiene and outbreaks of communicable disease.

Policies relating to infection prevention and control are available to all staff and are reviewed and updated annually. Additionally, all policies are amended on an ongoing basis as per current advice, guidance and legislation changes.

f. Responsibility

It is the responsibility of all staff members at Wellington Road Surgery to be familiar with this statement and their roles and responsibilities under it.

g. Review 

The IPC lead Sister Sophie Ludlow-Rhodes and Sister Melanie Cowley (IPC ink nurse) are responsible for reviewing and producing the annual statement.

This annual statement will be updated on or before 08/04/26.

Signed by

Sophie Ludlow-Rhodes

For and on behalf of Wellington Road Surgery

Patient Rights

You have a right to expect a high standard of medical care from our practice, and we will try at all times to provide the very best care possible within the resources available.

In order to assist us in this we require that you take full responsibility for ensuring that you do not abuse the service. For example, it is your responsibility to ensure that you keep medical appointments and follow the medical advice given.

Very occasionally, a patient/practice relationship breaks down completely. In this situation the patient may choose to register with a different practice. The practice also has the right to remove that patient from their list.

This would generally only follow a warning that had failed to remedy the situation and we would normally give the patient a specific reason for the removal.

Care Data

How information about you helps us to provide better care

Confidential information from your medical records can be used by the NHS to improve the services offered so we can provide the best possible care for everyone.

This information along with your postcode and NHS number but not your name, are sent to a secure system where it can be linked with other health information.

This allows those planning NHS services or carrying out medical research to use information from different parts of the NHS in a way which does not identify you.

You have a choice. If you are happy for your information to be used in this way you do not have to do anything.

If you have any concerns or wish to prevent this from happening, please speak to practice staff or ask at reception for a copy of the leaflet “How information about you helps us to provide better care”.

More information can be found here

Care data patient information leaflet

Care data patient frequently asked questions

Care data poster

Opt out form

www.nhs.uk/caredata

GP Net Earnings

All GP practices are required to declare the mean earnings (e.g. average pay) for GPs working to deliver NHS services to patients at each practice.

The average pay for GPs working in Wellington Road Surgery in the last financial year  (2023/2024) was £136,968 before tax and National Insurance. This is for 1 full-time GP and 8 part-time GPs who worked in the practice for more than six months.

Training Policy

We have been in involved in medical training for many years. This not only includes medical students from Keele & Manchester University but also those who have qualified but who are undertaking specialist training in General Practice. This is an exciting aspect of the practice and allows a chance to demonstrate what it’s like to work in a semi-rural area.

Dr Todd is responsible for medical students and Dr Staite organises the specialist training at postgraduate level. Most ‘Trainees’ are from the Shropshire training scheme and attend further training in Shrewsbury every week. All doctors, nurses and staff are involved in the training of GPs to give them a well-rounded experience of what it means to work in primary care within a well-structured and organised team.

Sometimes a doctor or medical student will be sitting in with the doctor you are seeing. This is part of their training and requires your consent. All consultations are bound by the usual confidentially rules. If for any reason you would prefer not to have them sitting in please let the receptionist or doctor know so we can arrange this. Occasionally consultations are videoed so they can be used to assess a doctor’s consulting skills. Written consent both before and after the consultation is required and the consultations are only kept for the training period and then destroyed. Again, if you any concerns regarding a video-ed consultation please let us know.

We are proud to be a training practice and enjoy the opportunity to show those training with us how our practice works in this area.

We have recently become involved with Medical Research based at Keele University; more information regarding this will follow.

Zero Tolerance Policy

The practice fully supports the NHS Zero Tolerance Policy. The aim of this policy is to tackle the increasing problem of violence against staff working in the NHS and ensures that doctors and their staff have a right to care for others without fear of being attacked or abused.

We understand that ill patients do not always act in a reasonable manner and will take this into consideration when trying to deal with a misunderstanding or complaint. We ask you to treat your doctors and their staff courteously and act reasonably.

In order for the practice to maintain good relations with their patients the practice would like to ask all patients to read and take note of the occasional types of behaviour that would be found unacceptable:

  • Using bad language or swearing at practice staff
  • Any physical violence towards any member of the Primary Health Care Team or other patients, such as pushing or shoving
  • Verbal abuse towards the staff in any form including verbally insulting the staff
  • Racial abuse and sexual harassment will not be tolerated within this practice
  • Persistent or unrealistic demands that cause stress to staff will not be accepted. Requests will be met wherever possible and explanations given when they cannot
  • Causing damage/stealing from the Practice’s premises, staff or patients
  • Obtaining drugs and/or medical services fraudulently

All incidents will be followed up and you will be sent a formal warning after the first incident or removed from the practice list after a second incident if your behaviour has been unreasonable.

However, aggressive behaviour, be it violent or verbal abusive, will not be tolerated and may result in you being removed from the Practice list and, in extreme cases, the Police will be contacted if an incident is taking place and the patient is posing a threat to staff or other patients.

Removal from the Practice List

A good patient-doctor relationship, based on mutual respect and trust, is the cornerstone of good patient care. The removal of patients from our list is an exceptional and rare event and is a last resort in an impaired patient-practice relationship. When trust has irretrievably broken down, it is in the patient’s interest, just as much as that of The Surgery, that they should find a new practice. An exception to this is on immediate removal on the grounds of violence e.g. when the Police are involved.

Help us to help you.

Data Protection Privacy Notice

Introduction

This privacy notice lets you know what happens to any personal data that you give to us, or any that we may collect from or about you. This privacy notice applies to personal information processed by or on behalf of the practice.

This Notice explains

  • Who we are, how we use your information and our Data Protection Officer
  • What kinds of personal information about you do we process?
  • What are the legal grounds for our processing of your personal information (including when we share it with others)?
  • What should you do if your personal information changes?
  • For how long your personal information is retained by us?
  • What are your rights under data protection laws?

The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) became law on 24th May 2016. This is a single EU-wide regulation on the protection of confidential and sensitive information. It enters into force in the UK on the 25th May 2018, repealing the Data Protection Act (1998).

For the purpose of applicable data protection legislation (including but not limited to the General Data Protection Regulation (Regulation (EU) 2016/679) (the “GDPR”), and the Data Protection Act 2018 (currently in Bill format before Parliament) the practice responsible for your personal data is Wellington Road Surgery.

This Notice describes how we collect, use and process your personal data, and how, in doing so, we comply with our legal obligations to you. Your privacy is important to us, and we are committed to protecting and safeguarding your data privacy rights.

Please click link below

Data Protection Privacy Notice for Patients

Complaints Procedure

A high standard of care is one of the priorities of this practice and we welcome your comments on how we might improve the service. If you have any comments or criticisms of the standard of service you have received from the practice please contact the practice manager or one of the partners. Problems of an administrative nature will be investigated initially by the practice manager, medical problems by a partner. If the problem is not resolved to your satisfaction we will advise you how to pursue the matter via the Health Authority.

Complaints Procedure and Policy

Confidentiality

All staff working here are aware of the importance of confidentiality to the practice of medicine. We will not use or tell others any confidential information obtained in the course of consultation, for any purpose other than your clinical care. The only exceptions are:

  1. with the consent of the patient, eg filling in insurance forms
  2.  if the law requires it, eg in notifying certain illnesses
  3. if there is an overriding duty to society.