Infection Prevention & Control Practitioner

NHS; Oxford; On-site; GBP 30,000 - 50,000; Full time

Job description

Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

Proposed interview date - Wednesday 07 May 2025

Infection Prevention and Control is at the top of the agenda at Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. We currently have an opportunity for an experienced IPC band 7 registered nurse/healthcare practitioner to come and join our team. We are looking for someone who firmly believes in improving safety for patients and staff. The role will challenge and develop the many skills you already have whilst creating and identifying a new set. Covering four hospital sites and a number of satellite services across Oxfordshire with a huge range of specialties, the scope of learning is vast. The role of the IPC nurse has many dimensions, from identifying infectious patients, the management advice to protect others, to ventilation, building works and water safety. You will also be involved in teaching and education and in advising clinical teams. The IPC service is a 7-day service and therefore employees will be required to work weekends and bank holidays. The IPC team has unique access to the combined expertise of the ID/Microbiology Consultant team together with the Modernising Medical Microbiology and Big Infection Diagnostics | NIHR Oxford Biomedical Research Centre to investigate healthcare associated infection and manage outbreaks in collaboration with Oxford University. Activation as airborne HCID regional facility as part of the national HCID network is anticipated in April 2025.

Main duties of the job

The post holder reports to the Lead Nurse and Manager Infection Prevention & Control, with an overall purpose of supporting the Infection & Prevention Control Service across the OUHFT. The prevention of healthcare-associated infection (HCAI) is a corporate and national priority, and a core element of safe high-quality care that promotes patient dignity and positive experiences for patients and their families. The post holder will be a role model for infection prevention and control, a visible IPC practitioner within clinical areas. They must be able to work independently across the setting, be an effective member of the wider team and demonstrate excellent communication skills. They will provide specialist advice and expertise to support the prevention, surveillance, and control of infection across OUHFT. Contributing to the day-to-day maintenance and further development of a high quality, proactive, responsive, and accessible infection prevention and control service. Working in this team will also support you to work autonomously to create quality improvement projects in IPC, using your creative and leadership skills whilst having support from the team to allow you to achieve these goals. Personal development is important to the Oxford IPC team so you must be interested in your future and the future of our IPC team.

About us

Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust is one of the largest NHS teaching trusts in the country. It provides a wide range of general and specialist clinical services and is a base for medical education, training and research. The Trust comprises four hospitals - the John Radcliffe Hospital, Churchill Hospital and Nuffield Orthopaedic Centre in Headington and the Horton General Hospital in Banbury. For more information on OUH please view OUH At a Glance by OUHospitals - Issuu.

Our values, standards and behaviours define the quality of clinical care we offer and the professional relationships we make with our patients, colleagues and the wider community.

We call this Delivering Compassionate Excellence and its focus is on our values of compassion, respect, learning, delivery, improvement and excellence.

These values put patients at the heart of what we do and underpin the quality healthcare we would like for ourselves or a member of our family. Watch how we set out to deliver compassionate excellence via the OUH YouTube channel.

Job responsibilities

Provide specialist advice and expertise to support the prevention, surveillance, and control of infection across OUHFT. The team provide a 7-day service to the Trust. Contribute to the day-to-day maintenance and further development of a high quality, proactive, responsive, and accessible infection prevention and control service. Assist in developing and reviewing specialist infection control policies and protocols, in order to promote and maintain the highest standards of infection prevention and control practice that is evidence and research based. Provide training and education to increase awareness of infection prevention and control issues amongst all disciplines and grades of staff within the Trust. Contribute to the Annual Infection Prevention and Control work programme on behalf of the Infection Prevention & Control Team (IPCT). Create quality improvement projects across a wide range of settings to support best evidence practice.

Person Specification

Qualifications

• Qualified Registered Nurse/ Biomedical Scientists / Healthcare Scientists
• Recognised teaching qualification or equivalent experience of teaching.
• Degree (or working towards) in infection prevention and control or equivalent.
• Full registration standing with appropriate professional body
• Master's level Study or willing to work towards.
• Infection Prevention Society Competencies completed/in progress

Knowledge, Training and Experience

• Recent experience in infection prevention & control at Band 6 or above
• Evidence of highly developed specialist knowledge, underpinned by theory and experience
• Teaching
• Experience of conducting audit and data analysis

Personal

• Ability to work weekends and bank holidays
• Able to travel between hospital sites and satellite units

Planning and Organisational Skills and Aptitudes

• Ability to develop positive working relationships with internal and external stakeholders
• Ability to prepare & present reports
• Able to use initiative and ingenuity to solve complex problems
• Advanced clinical reasoning skills.
• Advanced leadership skills.

Responsibility for policy/service improvement

• Experience of writing policies or guidelines

Responsibility for research and development

• Experience of quality improvement process
• Contribute to the implementation of research findings into clinical practice and service development
• Involvement with research projects

Disclosure and Barring Service Check

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.

Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

Depending on experience