Heather Wallace our Senior Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) Nurse in ARHAI Scotland discusses International Nurses Day.
Our Nurses Our Future: celebrating International Nurses Day 2024 - with Heather Wallace
Antimicrobial Resistance & Healthcare Associated Infection (ARHAI) Scotland is a clinical service providing national expertise for infection, prevention and control (IPC), antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and healthcare associated infection (HAI) for Scotland. ARHAI Scotland, along with Health Facilities Scotland (HFS), is part of NHS Scotland Assure. NHS Scotland Assure sits within the Procurement, Commissioning and Facilities Strategic Business Unit of NHS National Services Scotland (NSS).
Vision: ARHAI Scotland’s vision is as follows:
“To enable Scotland to have a world leading approach to reducing the burden of infection and antimicrobial resistance (AMR).”
Mission: Our overall mission is to improve the health and wellbeing of the population by reducing the burden of infection and antimicrobial resistance within Scottish care settings. We will do this by establishing a robust evidence base for practice and building mechanisms for monitoring key priority areas, connecting with the wider health and social care and public health system and collaborating with key delivery partners including NHS Boards, care providers and other national bodies as commissioned by the Scottish Government.
Purpose: We coordinate the national programmes for IPC and AMR, supports local NHS Boards, other national bodies and stakeholders in the implementation and delivery of these key priority programmes to reduce the overall burden of infection and antimicrobial resistance in line with nationally agreed priorities.
Role: We provide expert intelligence, support, advice, evidence-based guidance, clinical assurance and clinical leadership to local and national government, health and care professionals, the general public and other national bodies with the aim of protecting the people of Scotland from the burden of infection and antimicrobial resistance.
As the national organisation responsible for IPC and AMR, we liaise with other UK countries and international counterparts in the delivery and development of these national priority programmes.
ARHAI Scotland’s Functions: The work of ARHAI Scotland is underpinned by delivering a wide range of functions, working with stakeholders across health and care and beyond to fulfil these functions:
surveillance and monitoring of infections and antimicrobial resistance to assess their impact on health
clinical assurance to reduce risk in the built healthcare environment
co-ordination of national infection prevention and control and antimicrobial programmes
expert IPC/AMR advice and horizon scanning
effective preparation and response to HAI outbreaks and incidents
supporting the ongoing development of a confident, knowledgeable and competent IPC workforce in collaboration with NHS Education for Scotland
enabling good professional practice
research and innovation to provide evidence for action
develop and maintain national evidence-based IPC guidance for Scotland
Find out more about Antimicrobial Resistance and Healthcare Associated Infection Scotland services.
Our Nurses Our Future: celebrating International Nurses Day 2024 - with Heather Wallace
Our Nurses Our Future: celebrating International Nurses Day 2023 - with Paul Weaving
Scottish One Health Antimicrobial Use and Antimicrobial Resistance in 2021
Describes the methodologies for the national surveillance programme for surveillance of healthcare associated infection in intensive care units.
Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a major public health issue. The report provides intelligence on trends in antibiotic use and AMR in Scotland.
The ARHAI Scotland 2023 Annual Report reflects some of the key work delivered by ARHAI Scotland during 2023.
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