CWC22146 Infection Prevention Control Service

Health protection is a fundamental part of the public health system. It is defined as protecting the population from communicable (also known as infectious or transmissible) disease and non-infectious environmental hazards such as chemicals and radiation. The lead agency for managing the health protection function is the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), however, local authority public health teams, and wider system partners, also have a key role to play. Additionally, legislation such as the Health Protection Regulations 2010, place obligations on a range of agencies, including local authority, to act in accordance with law, to ensure the spread of infectious disease is prevented.

Ensuring residents of Wolverhampton remain healthy and safe is a key priority outlined within the Council plan where it is recognised City of Wolverhampton Council (CWC) has a key role to fulfil in protecting the most vulnerable with the right care and support. The Infection Prevention Control Service (IPCS) plays a key role in the management of the risk from infectious diseases through the city’s Outbreak Control Plan.

The contract will deliver a comprehensive service that includes:

• Management of specific infections
• Infectious disease outbreak management including urgent training, audit inspections and surveillance
• Education and training to maintain gold standard infection prevention control practices within these settings
• A programme of ongoing audit and inspections within care homes, to provide assurance that settings have appropriate controls in place to prevent and manage incidents and outbreaks
• A system of surveillance to effectively manage outbreaks and contribute to system wide intelligence on current and emerging infectious disease threats
• Acting as a conduit between UKHSA and local key agencies contributing to the health protection response
• Acting as a key partner in multi-agency approaches to manage outbreaks

The direct award of this service via Regulation 32 is in accordance with Public Contract Regulations 2015. This route to market has been taken to avoid destabilising wider structures that depend on the service such as Adults Social Care, Royal Wolverhampton Trust departments (hospital discharge, TB, ED), Integrated Care Board Quality Nursing and regional health protection system.

The service falls under the Light Touch Regime (Miscellaneous health services), processed via direct award, and is in accordance with the Public Contract Regulations 2015.