This document has been a collaborative effort of ex-Ebola infection control workers, geriatricians, doctors and water/sanitation specialists. It builds on current UK guidance for care homes, but (based on research that came out of the SARS outbreak, along with practical experience of running infection prevention and control in Ebola settings), it has a much stronger focus on the importance of:
- Clear delineation of risk zones for the entire building (rather than just rooms with patients). This type of zoning strategy is what has been proven to be very effective in previous SARS and Ebola outbreaks, and should also be effective with Coronavirus.
- Constant hand hygiene between zones (even when wearing gloves).
It also includes some more practical details and tips. For example, how to make chlorine dilutions) – as we know, this is a very current topic, but while the government guidance is saying to use 1,000 ppm, it is not telling people how to actually make that dilution.
The whole idea has been to get a practical aid into the hands of care home managers, so that they are able to implement effective infection control in their particular context. We know there is a wide range of different types and set-ups of care home, where each will need a context-based response, but as long as managers can understand the principles of zoning and constant hand hygiene between zones, they should be able to use/adapt this document for their own context.
The document is available here:
https://www.bushproof.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Care-home-strategy-for-IPC-of-Covid-19.docx