Introduction

The Royal College of Nursing (RCN), and City University eHealth Research Centre/NRIC are concentrating their efforts on providing Infection Prevention & Control (IP&C) information focusing on UK nursing students' and healthcare support workers', specific needs during this year's National Infection Prevention Week 2009.

National Infection Prevention Week is an opportunity to promote infection prevention and control as a key element of safe care for both patients and those receiving care in the community. The week should be used to emphasize the importance of protecting patients and health-care workers from infections through prevention, and to highlight the work that the staff in local community, independent healthcare settings and hospitals do all year round, to keep patients and clients who come into contact with healthcare services safe and free from healthcare associated infections. We are focusing on the contribution of two important groups of healthcare workers, nursing students and healthcare support workers and will use this opportunity to provide links to information on infection prevention and control knowledge that meets their specific needs. This collaboration between the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) and NRIC will also enable us to evaluate these two important groups of healthcare staffs information needs and plan for future NRIC content development

• To help ensure that staff working within the diverse healthcare environment and patients homes understand their role, accountability and responsibility in helping to prevent and control healthcare associated infection and communicable diseases
• To encourage healthcare staff to support and apply the principles of national policy and guidance, in their daily practice – (The Health and Social Care Act 2008: Code of Practice for the NHS on the prevention and control 2009. Department of Health1)
• To encourage staff to acknowledge that infection recognises no boundaries and to renew the commitment to joint working in the interest of the wider community (Working together to prevent and control infections 2009. Care Quality Commission 2)
• To answer specific IP&C information needs of healthcare assistants and student nurses
• To signpost student nurses and healthcare support workers towards local resources that should be available in the workplace and also provided from their professional organisations.