Cleanliness Champions
This information will help you to understand the placement activities you are to to complete the first 3 units of the cleanliness champions programme.
You have been issued with a folder of evidence where you will record your completion of these activities, and any evidence that you provide (e.g. written notes, forms filled in) should be kept with your folder of evidence.
When you come to university for the 2 sessions during placement, bring your folder and your evidence with you, and your learning team facilitator will sign off your folder.
Remember the actual units of the cleanliness champions are in the SNM Students site on MyDundee.
To complete Unit 1 of the cleanliness champions, meet with your mentor and discuss the questions below:
- You should find out if there is a champion for this placement area, and observe and discuss what the role entails with them. If there is no champion is there an infection control link practitioner responsible for your placement? She/he may work in another ward close by.
- Identify where the infection control manuals/policies are kept.
- What infection control posters and information is posted about the placement area?
- Are patients and visitors included in any way with standard infection control precautions?
- Word process a short (approx 300 words) report on what you have found out about the HAI champion role and how staff awareness of infection control issues and standard infection control precautions are kept up.
- Keep all of these answers with your folder of evidence.
To complete Unit 2:
- Meet with your mentor and discuss this activity, or discuss it with the HAI champion/ infection control link practitioner for your placement.
- Identify where the infection control manuals/policies are kept (you will have done this above).
- Word process a short (approx 300 words) report on how a single room is prepared for a patient with either MRSA or C. difficile infection, and how it’s cleaned following the patient’s discharge. If your placement is not a hospital ward find out how these infections are managed in that area. Your mentor or HAI champion might like to sign this.
- The other activity for this unit was completed in the timetabled Infection Control Induction session in the Clinical skills unit. You should have had the teacher facilitating this session to sign your work sheet.
- Keep the items with your folder of evidence.
To complete Unit 3
- Meet with your mentor and discuss these activities, or discuss them with the HAI champion or the infection control link practitioner for your placement.
- As found in cleanliness champions unit 3a:
- for one shift keep a record of all the things you did.
- looking at your list note down the answers to the following:
- when did you contaminate your hands,
- when did you decontaminate your hands?
- What did you use, soap and water or hand gel?
- Review cleanliness champions unit 3a and all its activities. Now add to the notes from the activities above and answer the following:
- were there occasions when you missed decontaminating your hands?
- Word process a short account of what you feel you have learnt about the importance of hand hygiene.
- For Unit 3b - activity 1 (observation of your handwashing practice) you completed this in the timetabled Infection Control Induction session in the clinical skills unit.
- For Unit 3b - activity 2 & 3 combined ask your mentor or the HAI champion to observe your hand washing technique (use the criteria from this unit) and explain when you would use the different products available in this placement. Observing others hand hygiene is an optional part of this activity. Remember that you observed some else’s hand hygiene in the Infection Control Induction session in clinical skills. You might like to reflect on how that felt.
- For Unit 3c - activity 1 complete an observational audit. This must be discussed and shared with your mentor. This exercise is for your learning. Once your have completed the observation criteria (use the one from this unit) identify in the comments column aspects of good practice, and highlight aspects that may be barriers to practice.
- Unit 3c - activity 2 is an activity to think about your own hand hygiene practice:
- Are there any aspects that you feel need to be improve?
- How do you plan to improve your practice?
- Keep the evidence of all these with your folder of evidence.