Recommendation 28

We asked about issues with infection prevention and whether some of the basics were not being upheld as much as they should. DHSC said that we should not underestimate how much of the battle against AMR “is really basic things”, including cleaning, handwashing and hospital design. It told us that the experience of COVID-19 led to mixed progress, improving handwashing but sometimes using inappropriate hygiene methods. It acknowledged that the NHS needed to get its staff, and not just doctors and nurses, back to following the basic procedures.70 NHS England told us that the introduction of the infection prevention and control manual has helped to standardise best practice.71 In a submission to us, the British Cleaning Council suggested that wider application of “Targeted Hygiene” in public places could help to reduce the spread of infections.72 67 C&AG‘s Report, para 1.9 68 Brian Duerden, Carole Fry, Alan P Johnson, Mark H Wilcox, ‘The Control of Methicillin- Resistant Staphylococcus aureus Blood Stream Infections in England’, Open Forum Infectious Diseases, volume 2, issue 2, March 2015 69 Q 45–46; C&AG‘s Report, para 3.10 70 Qq 43–46 71 Q 68 72 AR0011 17