Health and social care - infection prevention and control strategy: vision and priority statements (Scottish Government, 27 July 2026)

Summary

This strategy sets out a ten-year vision and priority statements which aim to minimise preventable infection across health and social care in Scotland, supporting safer care, stronger systems and a person-led, rights-based approach to infection prevention and control.

Content

Purpose

To set out the long-term national vision for infection prevention and control (IPC) in Scotland.

Ten-year vision

A Scotland where preventable infection is minimised for people accessing, using or providing health and social care.

Priority statements

1: Political commitment, governance, leadership and policies

Demonstrate visible and sustained leadership and action-orientated political commitment to ensure:

• IPC is a national priority, with effective and embedded governance and accountability, and recurring, risk-based investment to enable improvement across health and social care.
• Policies align with existing standards (Healthcare Improvement Scotland IPC standards29) and are developed through a human rights-based approach that considers both the context of, and setting for, care delivery and lessons learnt from public inquiries related to infection prevention and control.

2: Pro-active national and local IPC programmes

• Integrate and embed IPC as an active and implicit part of everyday care.
• Build on progress towards meeting (as a minimum) the WHO core components of IPC across health and social care; with an emphasis on continuous improvement, resilience and preparedness.
• Implement IPC interventions using key aspects of behavioural science, including in the context of implementing the UK National Action Plans under the 20-year vision for antimicrobial resistance; and
• Strengthen IPC knowledge and practice across health and social care in the context of preparedness, operational readiness and response for public health emergencies (such as, disease outbreaks, pandemics and national learning opportunities) at the national and facility levels.
• Develop and deliver programmes which involve – and are developed in partnership with – those delivering and receiving care

3: IPC integration and coordination

• Consistently coordinate and integrate IPC with other relevant priorities, including those on: antimicrobial resistance, quality improvement, public health and Scottish Government health and social care strategies and policies.
• Ensure equity of governance and IPC knowledge and skills competencies across health and social care settings.
• Embed risk-based, proportionate and context-specific approach to implementation of IPC measures in health and social care.

4: IPC education, training and IPC career development for health and social care workforce

• Using the IPC education curriculum for non-specialists and associated IPC Specialist Career pathway, ensure IPC education and training is embedded in health and social care workforce development, ensuring appropriate level of general to specialist competence.
• Ensure a recognised career pathway and job opportunities for IPC specialists which empower their diverse roles.
• Development of educational resources to support those receiving care and their unpaid carers and families utilising novel approaches.

5: Data for action

• Establish and/or better utilise available systems for regular data collection with a focus on IPC indicators and Health and Social Care associated infection surveillance with appropriate statistics and information governance enablement.
• Ensure that the data collected are meaningful, risk based and proportionate to support reduction of unnecessary harm from infection, and support data sharing where appropriate to maximise impact.
• Ensure that any data collected serves multiple purposes, with a focus on quality improvement and learning as well as assurance, measuring impact, analysing and interpreting data and informing resource allocation within the context of a quality management system.
• Develop, implement, measure, and regularly update locally tailored and actionable local improvement plans.
• Establish mechanisms for accountability based on IPC and Health and Social Care associated infection data.
• Ensure training and expertise for data collection, analysis, interpretation and quality control.

6: Advocacy and communications

• Embed a human-rights based, compassionate, sustainable and proportionate approach to IPC in Scotland.
• Incorporate learning from behavioural science research outcomes into development, implementation and evaluation of IPC programmes.
• Organise, implement or align with/ complement existing campaigns to promote and raise awareness of IPC themes, risks and targets.
• Actively engage with, listen to and act on the feedback from staff, patients, service users, unpaid carers and families.
• Provide tailored, accessible and consistent communications for the public and health and social care staff from authoritative sources, based on science and adapted for different audiences; and aligned with public health and antimicrobial resistance messaging.
• Provide innovative advocacy approaches through a range of communication channels.
• Evaluate messaging campaigns and impact; adapting and tailoring the messages based on the outcome

Read the full document via the link below.