Infection Prevention and Control PolicyA Infection Prevention and Control Policy written for your service
- Written for your organisation, not a template with your logo on it
- Read and approved by a person before it carries your name
- Verified against all 50 required elements of the legislation below
- Kept updated when the law changes, so it never quietly goes stale
No subscription needed. First year of updates included, £12 a year after that.
One-off, first year of updates included. Delivered within 2 working days of your details. Also in the Statutory Starter Pack, 20 policies for £495.
Trusted by UK care providers
Let's build your Infection Prevention and Control Policy
Answer 8 quick questions, about three minutes, and we'll write this policy for your service, in your name, with your people. You can skip anything and add it later.
Asked once, reused for every policy you buy
That's everything we need
0 of 8 answered. You can add the rest at any point before we write it.
- Registered company name
- Trading name (if different)
- Service address
- CQC provider ID
- CQC location ID
- Registered manager
- Nominated individual
- Infection prevention and control lead
Your answers are saved on this device and carried into your order.
Built from the law, checked against the law
The legislation, CQC standards and guidance we analyse to write it.
Your Infection Prevention and Control Policy is structured from these regulations, then verified against every required element of each one before a person signs it off. If the law changes, your policy is updated and you are told what changed and why.
Health and Social Care Act 2008: code of practice on the prevention and control of infections and related guidance
- Named infection prevention and control (IPC) lead with designated time, authority, and inclusion on the organisation's risk register
- Clear governance arrangements establishing lines of responsibility and accountability for infection prevention and control at organisational and operational level
- Systems for infection control risk assessment covering residents, staff, and all persons entering the premises including agency staff, contractors, visiting professionals and service providers
- Mandatory staff training programme on infection prevention and control procedures, including recognition and response to signs of infection
- Antimicrobial stewardship procedures addressing appropriate prescribing practices and preventing inappropriate antibiotic use in asymptomatic residents
- Staff exclusion policy requiring symptomatic staff (particularly those with diarrhoea and vomiting) to remain off work for 48 hours after symptoms cease, not to return early due to staffing pressures
Infection prevention and control (umbrella term; often linked to NICE CG139 and the Health and Social Care Act 2008 infection control code)
- A clear process for when staff with diarrhoea or vomiting may return to work (48 hours after symptoms stop, not 24 hours)
- A structured tool or script for staff to use when communicating with GPs about suspected infections to ensure appropriate antibiotic prescribing and avoid treating asymptomatic bacteriuria
- Application of the COSHH hierarchy of controls (prevention, substitution, engineering controls, systems of work, then PPE) to infection risks including norovirus, C. difficile, legionella and scabies
- Hand hygiene standards and procedures that include occupational skin health monitoring for staff experiencing dermatitis from frequent hand washing and PPE use, with provision for RIDDOR reporting of occupational dermatitis
- Procedures for notification of outbreaks to UKHSA health protection team
- Procedures for notification to CQC under Regulation 18 when infection-related incidents result in death or compromise the safe running of the home
NICE guideline CG139: Healthcare-associated infections: prevention and control in primary and community care
- Specifies hand hygiene (handwashing) procedures including when hands must be decontaminated before and after resident contact and care tasks
- Specifies requirements for use of personal protective equipment (PPE) including gloves and aprons, including that gloves must be changed between different residents and between different tasks on the same resident
- Requires hand decontamination both before putting on and after removing gloves, not gloves alone
- Addresses safe use and disposal of sharps including insulin pens, lancets and syringes, with specific requirements for safer sharps devices where reasonably practicable, prohibition of recapping, and sharps bins at point of use
- Includes a written procedure for managing sharps injuries including same-day occupational health referral and consideration of post-exposure prophylaxis
- Addresses environmental cleanliness standards and procedures
UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA)
- Includes current local health protection team telephone number and out-of-hours contact number for outbreak notification (not website address)
- Specifies three separate notification pathways for outbreaks: UKHSA health protection team, CQC under Regulation 18 where detrimental effect occurs, and local authority
- Clarifies that notification of notifiable diseases is the responsibility of the GP under Health Protection (Notification) Regulations 2010, and care home's role is to ensure GP attendance
- Addresses RIDDOR reporting requirements distinguishing between non-reportable resident infections and reportable staff occupational exposures (e.g. needlestick injuries)
- Complies with Regulation 9A (in force April 2024) prohibiting blanket visitor bans during outbreaks
- Requires mental capacity assessments and best interests decisions before isolating residents with dementia or cognitive impairment, recognising isolation as potential deprivation of liberty
Written for your service
What we ask you, so none of it is assumed.
Most policy packs are one document sold to everyone with a find and replace on the home name. Your Infection Prevention and Control Policy is written from the legislation above and from your answers to the questions below. Where you have told us something, it says so. Where you have not, it sets out what must happen rather than claiming you already do it.
Your registered name, address, CQC numbers and who holds the key roles. About three minutes. Nothing else is asked before you buy.
Asked once in your own account and used across every policy you own, so a second policy never asks you the same thing twice.
Why it matters. A policy that claims you assess your premises annually, when you never have, is not a harmless overstatement. It is a signed statement handed to your inspector. We would rather write what you must do than guess what you already do.
How it is made
From your details to a policy you can stand behind.
The short questions above: who you are, your CQC registration, and the people this policy names.
One section per required element of the legislation, in your name, with your people.
Automated checks against every required element, then a person reads it before it ships.
When legislation changes, your policy is updated and you are told what changed and why.
Common questions
What you are actually buying.
What exactly do I receive?
A complete Infection Prevention and Control Policy written for your organisation, in your dashboard and as a print-ready PDF on your own letterhead. It names your service, your registration details and your leads, because you gave us them.
Is this a template?
No. Each policy is written for the organisation buying it, structured from the legislation itself, verified against 50 required regulatory elements, and read by a person before it carries your name.
How quickly will I get it?
Within 2 working days of you completing the short questions above. Most arrive sooner.
What happens when the law changes?
We monitor UK care legislation continuously. When something affecting this policy changes, your copy is updated and you are told what changed and why. The first year of updates is included, then £12 a year per policy.
Can I edit the policy myself?
No, and deliberately so: we stand behind every word we approve. If something needs changing, tell us and we amend and re-verify it, so it always remains a document we can both defend to an inspector.
What if I need more than one policy?
Most services do. The Statutory Starter Pack covers the twenty policies every CQC-registered service is expected to hold for £495, and the Complete Policy Library covers all 66.
Why CareStream
Policies written the way an inspector expects to read them.
Before you buy
What the document actually looks like.
Every section it contains, and a page of the real thing. We show the structure and the personalisation rather than the wording, because the wording is what you are paying us to write for your service.
Contents of your Infection Prevention and Control Policy
- Purpose and scopewho it covers
- Legal and regulatory frameworkcited in full
- Definitions used in this policy
- Roles and responsibilitiesyour people, named
- Procedure, step by step
- Recording, reporting and escalation
- Training and competency
- Monitoring, audit and review
- Related policies and documents
- Version control and approvalsigned and dated
Section 4 · Roles and responsibilities
Who is accountable, by name
Overall accountability for this policy rests with your registered manager, supported by your nominated individual. Day to day responsibility sits with your named lead, who is the first point of contact for staff at your service address.
The remaining wording is written for the organisation buying it, so it is not shown here.
“The inspector asked for evidence and I had it on screen before she finished the sentence.”
Registered Manager · 48-bed nursing home, West SussexRelated policies
More policies your service may need.
More statutory and operational policies CareStream writes for your service, personalised, human-reviewed and kept updated, exactly like this one.
Safeguarding Adults Policy
Recognising, responding to and reporting abuse and neglect, aligned to the Care Act 2014 and your local authority procedures.
Medicines Management Policy
Ordering, storage, administration, recording and disposal of medicines, including errors and self-administration.
Mental Capacity and DoLS Policy
Capacity assessment, best-interests decisions and deprivation of liberty safeguards under the MCA 2005.
Health and Safety Policy
Your general statement, organisation and arrangements under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974.
Data Protection and GDPR Policy
Lawful handling of personal and special category data under UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018.
Fire Safety Policy
Prevention, detection, evacuation (including PEEPs) and staff responsibilities under the Fire Safety Order 2005.
Compared
The four ways care services get a policy.
We have compared what each approach does rather than naming competitors, because products change and the comparison should still be true next year.
| CareStream | A policy pack | A consultant | A free template | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Questions asked at the point of purchase, so it is personalised rather than blank | ||||
| Written for your service, naming your manager and your leads | ||||
| Structured from the regulations, every required element checked before it is sent | ||||
| A branded companion document setting out the law it was written against | ||||
| Read and approved by a person before it carries your name | ||||
| Prints on your own letterhead with a sign-off and version block | ||||
| Named role holders update everywhere when the person changes | ||||
| Kept current when the law changes, and you are told what changed | ||||
| Turnaround stated before you buy | ||||
| Your staff can ask it questions in their own language | ||||
| What it costs | £39 to £79 per policy, one-off | £250 to £995 for the pack | A day rate, typically £400 upwards | Nothing |
Prices are the published rates of the common alternatives as at September 2026, for comparison only.
Training
Owning the policy is half of it
An inspector asks whether your staff understood it, not whether you hold it. Ninety eight modules written and kept current by us, to the same regulations, from £25.99 per staff member with no subscription.
