The Care Home Infection Prevention and Control Manual (CH IPCM), referred to as ‘the manual’ throughout, was first published in 2021. It is evidence-based and is intended to be used by all those involved in care home provision in Scotland.

The manual is context specific and has been co-produced with national and local stakeholders. The content of the manual is completely aligned to the evidence based National Infection Prevention and Control Manual (NIPCM) which was first published in 2012, by the Chief Nursing Officer (CNO (2012)1).

The manual currently contains

• Chapter 1 – Standard Infection Control Precautions (SICPs)
• Chapter 2 – Transmission Based Precautions (TBPs)

The manual is a practice guide for use in care homes. When used, it can help reduce the risk of infections and ensure the safety of residents, as well as staff and visitors in the care home environment. It is the Scottish Government expectation that care home settings apply guidance contained within this manual to achieve the aims.

The manual aims to:

• make it easy for staff to apply effective infection prevention and control (IPC) precautions
• help reduce the risk of infection
• reduce variation, promote standardisation, and optimise IPC practices throughout care home settings
• improve the application of staff knowledge and skills in IPC
• help align practice, monitoring, quality improvement and scrutiny

The manual should be adopted for all IPC practices and procedures within care home settings.

Is the manual based on scientific literature?

The recommendations for practice made in the manual are fully aligned to the NIPCM and are based on real-time reviews of the current scientific literature (for example Medical Journals) and best practice. Any major changes identified in the scientific literature may lead to a change being made to the content, and so, it is recommended that the online version is always accessed and used locally.

What's in the appendices?

The appendices can be used as practical implementation of the manual and contain graphical representations (for example diagrams and charts) that can be used along with the contents of the manual.

Many of the appendices can be printed off as posters for local use throughout the care home.

Are there any other IPC materials that can be used?

There are links throughout the manual to additional resources and the resources page links to IPC campaign materials, education, training links and posters.

In addition you may find it useful to read the literature reviews and SBARs for the manual.

How can I find out what the scientific and medical words mean?

A glossary section has been provided.

Does the manual content work on mobile devices?

Yes, all content including appendices work on mobile devices for example laptops and smartphones.