Overview | Standards development | Further reading | Frequently Asked Questions

National Standards for Prevention and Control of Healthcare Associated Infections

The development of these National Standards has consisted of a series of steps to ensure that they are person centred, evidence based, clear, valid, measurable and fit for purpose.

The Authority established an internal project team that was responsible for the overall development of the National Standards. The project team conducted a comprehensive review of the available Irish and international literature and held a series of meetings with key stakeholders.

In order to ensure that advice from the public and professionals contributed to the development of the National Standards, the Authority established an Advisory Group to provide technical advice, review draft standards and provide feedback to the Authority’s project team. Membership of the Advisory Group consisted of a number of representatives from various backgrounds including experts in microbiology, front-line service professionals and service user representatives.

In order to gain structured feedback from key stakeholders and the wider public, the project team undertook an extensive process of consultation through:

• Focus groups with service users were held, one in Dublin and one in Cork
• Regional workshops with service providers in Dublin, Monaghan, Sligo and Cork, attended by over 150 people in total
• Two international advisers reviewed draft standards and provided detailed feedback
• Launching, in June 2008, the Authority’s Draft Infection Prevention and Control Standards: A Consultation Document, for public consultation and for discussion and consideration by all relevant stakeholders
• A six-week public consultation process, which ran from 3 June until 18 July 2008. The consultation process was advertised in the national newspapers and the Draft Standards were sent to over 400 relevant stakeholders.

Submissions were received from a wide range of stakeholders including members of the public, advocacy groups, and both private and public service providers from community, primary care and the acute hospital sector. The total submissions received was 107.

The information received was reviewed in detail and used to inform the development of the National Standards. For full details of the consultation process, including details of the feedback received and a complete list of submissions, please see the Report on the Outcome of the Public Consultation on the National Standards for the Prevention and Control of Healthcare Associated Infections.