Collaboration To Develop And Implement New Infection Prevention Link Nurse Programme

A new project has been set up in collaboration between the University’s School of Healthcare Sciences and Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board (BCUHB) to develop a new programme to promote best practice in infection prevention. Staff from the BCUHB Infection Prevention team have worked with staff and students from the School to develop a bespoke programme for link nurses across community hospital settings. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

The programme is designed to support staff in their new role and provide opportunities for reflection and learning, and includes a new online course designed by the project team. The course content not only focuses on enhancing infection prevention knowledge and skills, but also promotes learning about behaviour change in practice and leadership skills, and offers structured opportunities for reflection about best practice for patient care. Each course unit links to an online discussion board to promote networking and support, which the link nurses can access at their convenience. The programme will be evaluated in 2017. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

Dr Lynne Williams from the School of Healthcare Sciences writes: ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

“We are delighted to be working with the Infection Prevention team on this exciting venture. Link nurse programmes are nothing new in nursing, but little evidence exists to show exactly their contribution to promoting best practice. We have worked together to develop a comprehensive programme which encourages reflection on practice, and offers link nurses an opportunity to stop and think about issues, and promote their own development as leaders in this highly important area of practice.” ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​