Aim of the Course

The course aims to prepare adult health and social care staff to recognise a suspected outbreak, take immediate precautions, report concerns promptly and contribute safely to a coordinated outbreak response.

It also develops managers’ and senior staff members’ understanding of outbreak planning, leadership, communication, documentation, staffing resilience and collaboration with the UK Health Security Agency, local infection-prevention teams and other relevant professionals.

Scope of the Course

This course is suitable for:

1. Care assistants and healthcare assistants
2. Support workers
3. Senior carers and team leaders
4. Registered nurses and nursing associates
5. Care-home managers and deputies
6. Housekeeping, catering and laundry staff
7. Infection prevention and control leads
8. Other staff contributing to outbreak control

It applies primarily to care homes and comparable adult social care settings in England.

Course completion does not authorise learners to diagnose an infectious disease, declare an outbreak, prescribe treatment, independently impose visiting restrictions or make public-health decisions. These actions require appropriate clinical or public-health authority.

Staff must follow current UKHSA advice, local Health Protection Team instructions, organisational procedures and any organism-specific guidance.

What This Course Covers

The course covers:

1. Definitions and common causes of outbreaks
2. Recognising linked cases and unusual illness patterns
3. Immediate action following a suspected outbreak
4. Outbreak reporting and notification pathways
5. Roles of the outbreak-control team
6. Standard and transmission-based precautions
7. Hand hygiene and personal protective equipment
8. Isolation, cohorting and movement management
9. Enhanced environmental cleaning
10. Equipment, linen, waste and laundry controls
11. Specimen collection and testing arrangements
12. Monitoring residents and recognising deterioration
13. Staffing, agency workers and business continuity
14. Admissions, transfers, visiting and communal activity
15. Communication with residents, families and professionals
16. Outbreak records, surveillance and confidentiality
17. Declaring an outbreak over
18. Post-outbreak review and quality improvement

Learning Outcomes

By the end of the course, learners should be able to:

1. Define an infection outbreak and explain why some single cases require immediate action.
2. Identify infections commonly associated with outbreaks in adult care.
3. Recognise linked symptoms and unusual patterns of illness.
4. Distinguish legal duties from regulations, guidance and local procedures.
5. Take appropriate immediate action following suspected infectious illness.
6. Follow the correct internal and external reporting pathway.
7. Describe the role of the UKHSA Health Protection Team.
8. Apply standard infection-control precautions consistently.
9. Follow additional transmission-based precautions when advised.
10. Use PPE according to the identified risk and current guidance.
11. Support isolation or cohorting in a proportionate, person-centred manner.
12. Contribute to enhanced cleaning and decontamination arrangements.
13. Handle equipment, linen, laundry and waste safely.
14. Contribute accurate information to outbreak monitoring records.
15. Recognise and escalate clinical deterioration without delay.
16. Support safe staffing and continuity arrangements.
17. Explain why visiting or movement restrictions must be necessary, proportionate and regularly reviewed.
18. Communicate outbreak information clearly while maintaining confidentiality.
19. Identify when specialist advice is required before admissions or transfers.
20. Contribute to post-outbreak review and improvement planning.

Further Reading and References

1. Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014—Regulation 12 — requires providers to assess infection risks and prevent, detect and control the spread of infection.
2. UKHSA and DHSC: Infection prevention and control resource for adult social care — national best-practice guidance covering routine precautions and measures that may change during an outbreak.
3. UKHSA: Acute respiratory infection outbreak management in care homes — guidance on risk assessment, surveillance, infection control and management of suspected respiratory outbreaks.
4. UKHSA: Norovirus outbreak management in health and social care — recommendations for managing diarrhoea and vomiting outbreaks in hospitals, residential homes and other community care settings.