Infection Prevention and Control in Care Homes: What CQC Expects
The IPC quality statement, the legal code of practice, the topics inspectors cover and how to audit and evidence infection control in your service.
Infection prevention and control (IPC) is how a service assesses and manages the risk of infection, detects and controls its spread and shares concerns promptly with the right agencies. CQC assesses it under the Safe key question, linking it to Regulation 12 (safe care and treatment) and Regulation 15 (premises and equipment), and expects providers to follow the Health and Social Care Act 2008 code of practice on the prevention and control of infections.
Infection control is one of the topics inspectors are most likely to test on the day, because they can see it: hand hygiene, PPE, cleanliness, laundry and sluices. This guide sets out what CQC says, the legal code you must have regard to, the areas it covers and how to audit and evidence your practice.
CQC framework note
CQC’s IPC guidance for care homes carries a notice that it is under review, having been written under the previous approach. The regulations and the code of practice remain in force. See the new framework explained.
Key takeaways
- CQC’s IPC quality statement expects you to assess and manage infection risk, detect and control spread and share concerns promptly.
- It relates to Regulation 12, Regulation 15 and Regulation 17 (good governance).
- Providers are expected to follow the Health and Social Care Act 2008 code of practice on the prevention and control of infections and related guidance.
- Clear roles and responsibilities, clean premises and equipment, and information sharing are the tests.
- Audit regularly, act on findings and keep training and competency current.
In this guide
What CQC Expects: The IPC Quality Statement
CQC’s quality statement reads: “We assess and manage the risk of infection. We detect and control the risk of it spreading and share any concerns with appropriate agencies promptly.” What it means in practice (CQC: Infection prevention and control):
- An effective approach to assessing and managing infection risk, in line with current national guidance.
- People are protected as much as possible because premises and equipment are kept clean and hygienic.
- Clear roles and responsibilities for infection prevention and control.
- Information about infection risk is shared appropriately with agencies, people using the service and visitors.
What It Covers
CQC lists these subtopics: cleanliness and hygiene of the environment and equipment, personal hygiene of staff and people using services, food hygiene, PPE, vaccination, infection management, outbreak management, infectious diseases, and waste and clinical specimen management. It also points to related regulations: Regulation 12 (safe care and treatment), Regulation 15 (premises and equipment) and, more widely, Regulation 17 (good governance).
The Code of Practice and Other Guidance
CQC expects providers to be aware of and follow best practice guidance, starting with the Health and Social Care Act 2008 code of practice on the prevention and control of infections and related guidance from the Department of Health and Social Care (GOV.UK: code of practice). Other guidance CQC lists includes NICE quality standard QS61 and Royal College of Nursing and HSE resources. CQC also names related legislation including the Food Safety and Hygiene (England) Regulations 2013, the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 2002 and the Health Protection (Notification) Regulations 2010.
What Inspectors Look For
CQC’s IPC information-gathering tool for care homes asks inspectors to judge whether they are assured, somewhat assured or not assured on IPC topics (CQC: IPC in care homes). Expect them to look at:
- Hand hygiene and PPE in use, and how staff answer questions about them.
- Cleanliness of rooms, equipment, mattresses, sluices and kitchens, and cleaning schedules that match what they see.
- Laundry, waste and sharps handling.
- Outbreak plans, isolation arrangements and how information is shared.
- Vaccination records and staff and resident information.
- Named IPC lead, training and competency records.
How to Audit and Evidence IPC
- Audit monthly, covering environment, equipment, hand hygiene observation, PPE, laundry and waste.
- Observe practice, not just cleaning records.
- Check training and competency, including hand hygiene and PPE. See mandatory training and competency assessments.
- Turn findings into actions with owners and re-audit. See how to carry out an audit.
- Keep outbreak and notification records, and review after any outbreak.
- Review at governance meetings. See how to run a governance meeting.
See also the compliance checklist by frequency.
Tracking IPC Audits
CQCLogic’s audit schedule comes with an Infection Prevention and Control audit pre-loaded on a monthly frequency, linked to Regulation 12. Completions and findings are logged, re-audit dates are set, actions can be sent to the governance action list and audits export to PDF. The audit content is a starting point that you should adapt to your service and to current guidance.
Run your monthly IPC audit and track the actions
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Frequently Asked Questions
What is infection prevention and control in a care home?
How a service assesses and manages infection risk, detects and controls spread and shares concerns promptly, including hygiene, PPE, cleaning, laundry, waste, vaccination and outbreak management.
What does CQC expect for infection control?
CQC’s IPC quality statement expects an effective approach to assessing and managing infection risk in line with national guidance, clean premises and equipment, clear roles and responsibilities and information sharing.
Which regulations relate to infection control?
CQC links IPC to Regulation 12 (safe care and treatment) and Regulation 15 (premises and equipment), with Regulation 17 (good governance) also relevant.
What is the code of practice on infection prevention and control?
The Health and Social Care Act 2008 code of practice on the prevention and control of infections, published by the Department of Health and Social Care, which providers are expected to follow.
How often should IPC audits be done in a care home?
CQC sets no frequency. Monthly is common for core IPC audits, with more frequent checks during outbreaks. See our audit schedule.
Do I need an infection control lead?
CQC expects clear roles and responsibilities for IPC. Naming a lead, with training and time to audit, is a common way to meet that.
Sources: CQC: Infection prevention and control (quality statement) · CQC: Infection prevention and control in care homes · GOV.UK: Code of practice on the prevention and control of infections