IPC3 Clean and remove spillages of blood and other body fluids

Overview

This standard concerns the safe and effective cleaning and removal of spillages of blood and other body fluids to minimise the risk of infection to health and social care staff, patients/clients and visitors. The standard applies in all health and social care settings, including community and domiciliary settings and ambulance vehicles. Exposure to blood and other body fluids poses a potential risk of infection from bacteria and viruses. All staff working in health and social care should receive training in how to deal with spillages but it should be clear who is primarily responsible for cleaning blood and body fluid spillages within each area or care setting. Users of this standard will need to ensure that practice reflects up to date information and policies. Version No 1

Knowledge and Understanding

You will need to know and understand:

Relevant standard infection control precautions legislation and policies
Health and safety regulations covering your area of work
COSHH regulations concerning hazardous substances
The chain of infection
How to access facilities for hand hygiene
The different types of spillage and local policies on the appropriate cleaning and disinfection processes to follow
The uses, dilutions, methods of application, storage and disposal of detergents and disinfectants used to clean spillages
Techniques for maintaining hand hygiene
The appropriate personal protective equipment to use when cleaning spillages
How to safely put on, remove and dispose of personal protective equipment
How to segregate different categories of waste
The different colour-coded bags and waste containers available and the correct use of each
How to distinguish between single-use, single-patient use and reusable equipment and how to dispose of them, and launder/clean or store them, safely
Your own role and responsibilities, and the responsibilities of others
How to complete the records required in your area of activity
How to report adverse events, accidents and incidents
How and when to report issues that are outside your job role

Performance Criteria

You must be able to do the following:

take precautions and apply safe working practices to minimise the risk of exposure to blood and other body fluids
act immediately to deal with spillages of blood or other body fluids by placing warning signs and a physical barrier as appropriate
assess the spillage and gather the cleaning equipment and personal protective equipment you will need to tackle it
put on the personal protective equipment needed to minimise the risk of exposure to infection, before dealing with the spillage
if the spillage is large, apply disposable paper towels or granules to contain and absorb it, discarding them in the appropriate waste bin, avoiding splashing
follow the methods set out in local policies for cleaning and removing spillages of different types of body fluids
dispose of spent or unused cleaning solutions in a designated area
discard disposable cleaning equipment and disposable personal protective equipment immediately in the appropriate waste bin, and clean and dry non-disposable equipment ready for re-use
return disinfectants to safe storage, following Control of Substances Hazardous to Health regulations, health and safety policies and the manufacturer's instructions
remove warning signs and re-instate the area
perform hand hygiene in accordance with standard infection control precautions
if you are adversely exposed to blood or body fluids while cleaning the spillage, immediately seek first aid from a qualified person, and report the incident in accordance with the local policy
report the spillage in accordance with the local policy for adverse event reporting

Additional Information

This National Occupational Standard was developed by Skills for Health. This standard links with the following dimension within the NHS Knowledge and Skills Framework (October 2004): Dimension: Core 3 Health, safety and security