National infection prevention and control (IPC) guidance must reflect the diverse clinical settings where nurses work and avoid a ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach, a senior nursing figure has said.
Speaking yesterday at the UK Covid-19 Inquiry Rose Gallagher, professional lead for IPC at the Royal College of Nursing (RCN), said future guidance must reflect a variety of health and care environments to better protect nurses, including those in adult social care and independent settings.
Responding to questions from Alison Monroe KC on behalf of Covid Bereaved Families for Justice UK, Ms Gallagher told the inquiry that more ‘should have been done’ to resolve the confusion around IPC guidance, particularly regarding the airborne transmission of the virus.
Ms Gallagher later acknowledged that clearer language could have been used to deliver more effective IPC guidance that was accessible to all nurses, not just IPC specialists.
She explained that IPC guidance ‘does not exist in isolation’ and must be implemented in the context where a healthcare worker is working, to align and reflect the needs of other legislation or regulations.
‘It’s really important there isn’t a one-size-fits-all guidance. Certainly, it can be based on principles, but it has to be implemented in the context of where those nurses are working,’ she said.
Ms Gallagher also gave evidence to the inquiry last summer, during which she claimed those representing the nursing profession were ‘shut out’ of key decision-making during the pandemic.
As the first nurse to give evidence to the inquiry, she flagged concerns that the voice of nurses had been overlooked in preparations for a pandemic.
The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) has today announced plans to create a world-first ‘early warning system’ to monitor the threat of future pandemics.
The system will be developed through a new partnership between the government, Genomics England, UK Biobank, NHS England, and Oxford Nanopore, a UK-headquartered life sciences company.
