Guidance on meeting the regulation

The best way that NHS trusts can ensure that they meet the regulation is to follow the Government’s code of practice on HCAIs. We have developed guidance to help trusts understand our inspection process.


The regulation regarding HCAIs

The regulation of and guidance regarding HCAIs changed in 2009. NHS trusts should use the revised code of practice from January 2009 to ensure compliance with the regulation up to 1 April 2010, when a newer version of the hygiene code is released.

For a copy of the code of practice on HCAIs, visit the Department of Health's website (opens in a new window).

How inspections influence other CQC activities

The Care Quality Commission will consider taking enforcement action when we find on inspection that a trust is not compliant with the regulation regarding HCAIs. We may use our enforcement powers to alter a trust's registration status, for example by imposing conditions on their registration.

In addition, we may use evidence from this inspection programme in risk-based assessments for other activities. For example, if a breach of the regulation is found on inspection, this will be considered during the review of the trusts' self-declarations for the periodic review that spans the relevant time period.

In turn, the team for the HCAI inspections uses data from internal and external sources in planning inspections. For example, trust's self-declarations for registration and the periodic review, and rates of MRSA bloodstream infection are among the data used to assess potential risks related to HCAIs at a particular organisation.

Further guidance and policy documents

Practice alerts

We issue a practice alert where we find a repeated area of concern on a number of different inspections, in order to draw this common issue to the attention of NHS staff.

Practice alert on mattresses, September 2009 (PDF, 132KB, opens in new window)