Outbreak checklist for incidents, outbreaks and data exceedances in hospital settings

This outbreak checklist is aligned to, and should be used in conjunction with, the National Infection Prevention and Control Manual (NIPCM) and associated appendices. It is designed to support staff with the prevention and control of suspected or confirmed incidents and outbreaks in hospital settings as described in chapter 3 of the NIPCM.

The points contained within the outbreak checklist are not exhaustive and should be used in conjunction with the above mentioned NIPCM and other supporting resources and materials.

This outbreak checklist demonstrates application of controls as recorded in the ORT. Any additional controls and all investigations must be entered in the free text field of the ORT. The ORT reporting protocol is available.

Quality improvement opportunities

• Ongoing incident and outbreak support is actively provided by members of the IPCT and local clinical leadership team, including education, interpretation and application of necessary risk assessments, control measures, guidance documents and the application of the NIPCM and appendices.
• A local HAI programme actively monitors compliance with current Infection Prevention and Control Standards.
• The organisations multi-disciplinary team actively consider learning opportunities presented by HAI data exceedance, incidents and outbreaks and disseminate, escalate, and share all relevant lessons learned via established local and national governance and reporting routes.