Infection Prevention & Control Practitioner


Company:	NHS Jobs
Salary:	£47,951 to £56,863 a year
Hours:	Full-time
Location:	Orpington, BR6 8ND
Job type:	Permanent
Posting date:	28 Sept 2026
Closing date:	12 Oct 2026

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Summary

Key Working Relationships Infection Prevention & Control Clinical Nurse Specialists Matron IPC Head of Nursing IPC DIPC Clinical teams Consultant Microbiologists Surveillance Team CEF The post holder will participate in the infection control ALERT surveillance programme, using EPIC Bugsy, under the guidance of the Infection Control Team. The post holder will be allocated a division providing IPC advice in relation to audit and prevention of infections. The post holder will contribute to the review, development and implementation of IPC policies and audit timetables. Support and conduct SSIS of the surgical specialities as designated under the SSIS lead (both orthopaedic mandatory and voluntary categories) Will provide advise on decontamination processes under the direction of the Decontamination Trust advisor. Assist & support IPC validation audits & research including MEG and other cleaning (and efficacy) PLACE audits as required. Understands the financial implication of infection control advice or recommendations. Ensure infection control practice is evidence based. Main Duties and Responsibilities Patient Care Act as a credible role model to all clinical and support staff to support the effective provision of Infection Prevention and Control practices across the Trust. Assess, plan and communicate actions required by clinical staff for safe infection control patient care. Assess, plan and implement clinical care in line with own competence and confidence, supporting patients as required. Work with clinical staff across the organisation supporting practice and providing specialist advice to ensure high standards of infection prevention and control practice are embedded. Advises on all types of isolation techniques and their introduction and practice. Assists in the investigations of outbreaks of infection with particular reference to their source and mode of spread. Assists in the collection of relevant clinical data for use by the Infection Control Team, including surveillance team. Provide clinical support during outbreaks of infection or contamination events, with the support of the IPC Team. In some circumstances duties may be required outside of normal working hours to effectively manage these. Demonstrate an awareness of the complex needs of different client groups when imparting or receiving sensitive, complex or contentious information within a hostile or highly emotive atmosphere. Able to cope with staff, patients and carers in distressing or emotional circumstances. Due to the nature of the job, needs to be flexible, coping with frequent unpredictable changes within daily workload, for example attending Root Cause Analysis and investigating Health care Associated Investigations Organisation and Planning: Be an active member of the Infection Control Team and relevant Infection Control Committees. Maintains and updates records, documenting infection prevention and control advice relating to patient care in accordance with NMC and Kings guidelines whether written or computerised. Demonstrates an ability to plan work in accordance with the needs of the service, whilst recognising the need and implementing multi-disciplinary involvement when appropriate Work in partnership with Divisions to support a high standard of Infection Prevention and Control clinical practice. Act as the key point of contact for designated Division(s) providing specialist advice and support as appropriate. Participate in the planning, organisation and delivery of the IPC Education Strategy for all healthcare staff and support staff as well as patients and carers as appropriate. Support the Infection Prevention and Control Link Practitioner network. Contribute to the development and delivery of local bespoke training and any other teaching, training or education. Ensure effective training records are maintained according to Trust agreed processes. Developing keyboard and database skills to facilitate documentation and information gathering. Assists in the identification of service deficiencies and resources for their improvement. Education Training and Development Understand and explain to others standard and transmission-based precautions. Works in collaboration with staff to implement infection control best practice. Responsible for the delivery of the formal and informal specialist infection prevention and control education of all disciplines of staff on a range of subjects Assist in the evaluation and introduction of new methods and practices in relation to the prevention and control of infection. Contribute to the education and support of the infection control key worker professional network. Participates in the mentoring and supervision of learners allocated to the IPC service. Contribute to planning and delivery of IPC sessions and study days. Keep up to date with all their statutory, mandatory training together with any professional training requirements, ensuring they are up to date and fully compliant. Service Development and Research: Participate in the development, implementation and ongoing review of Infection Prevention and Control related patient and staff information leaflets, policies, procedures and guidelines setting the required standards. Support the programme of audit and surveillance of healthcare associated infections and Surgical site infections, using recognised methods of data collection and analysis. Contributes to the development of the infection prevention and control service. Contribute to the Infection Prevention and Control Team objectives, annual programme of work and the Infection Prevention and Control annual report. Maintain an awareness and understanding of relevant, up-to-date Infection Prevention and Control research studies. Critically analyse and evaluate research findings, apply these to clinical practice and use them to inform/maintain updated polices, practice and guidance, sharing knowledge. Participate in research studies and national initiatives. Act as change agent and support others in the implementation of new practices. Participate in team building days/activities as part of the Team. People Management and Performance As required, provides assurance to the Trust regarding levels of compliance with Infection Prevention and Control practice. Organises own daily workload, managing time effectively. Effective team working and communication across the infection prevention and control service. Provides day to day support and clinical supervision of junior staff, students and visitors to the department. Contribute to the patient safety and Clinical Governance agenda, specifically supporting and facilitating root cause analysis investigations and Post Infection Reviews (PIRs) following Hospital Acquired infections/outbreaks. Review and record all hospital acquired infections to ensure the correct management, respond to any lapses of care that may have contributed to the infection, develop action plans with clinical areas and ensure they have the resources to complete actions within an adequate time frame. Support new members of the Infection Prevention and Control Team. Facilitate educational placements and visits by link practitioners and student nurses/Allied Health Professionals/Doctors or others, as appropriate, to allow insight into the role of the Infection Prevention and Control nurse specialist. Mentor student nurses and other learners on placement with the infection prevention and control team Information systems and data management To become conversant with data analysis and IT support as part of their day-to-day job Be confident in suing EPIC Bugsy and other data systems including MS Office, excel, PowerPoint etc Ensuring that IPC Bugsy patient data is identified, acted on and competent to complete MRSA letters and flags, relevant information as requested. Be familiar with and develop expertise at flagging, reporting, writing IPC advice under the direction of the senior IPC nurses. To help understand and report IPC data as required as part of development and needs of the IPC service. Learn how to use EPIC Bugsy reports for the identification and communication of infections as per daily reports. Learn how to run infection reports, attribute infections correctly under the supervision of the senior team and surveillance i.e., COHA, HOHA attribution. Finance and Resources: The safe use of equipment/maintenance of supplies or stock for the infection prevention and control service. This job description is intended as a guide to the general scope of duties and is not intended to be definitive or restrictive. It is expected that some of the duties will change over time, and this description will be subject to review in consultation with the post holder.

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