Infection Prevention and Control Awareness Training for Safer Care
Infection control is often noticed only when something goes wrong. A missed hand wash, an unreported illness, or poor cleaning between visits can create avoidable risk, especially when support is being provided to older adults or people with reduced immunity.
Mandatory Training 22, Infection Prevention & Control (IPC) Awareness, gives Companions, Volunteers, Team Leaders, Coordinators, and Management Staff a clear grounding in safe everyday practice. It is designed for people who visit clients at home or in community settings, where simple habits can make a significant difference.
This article is for general training awareness only. It does not replace clinical advice, local policies, or public health guidance.
What MT22 covers
MT22 is a two-hour awareness course focused on the everyday infection risks that may arise during visits, support activities, and contact with clients, families, colleagues, and the wider community.
Course detail | Information |
Course title | Infection Prevention & Control Awareness |
Course reference | MT22 |
Target audience | Companions, Volunteers, Team Leaders, Coordinators, and Management Staff |
Duration | 2 hours |
Delivery method | E-learning, virtual classroom, or face-to-face training |
Refresher period | Every 3 years |
Assessment | 10 randomly selected questions from a bank of 15 |
Pass mark | 80% |
The course is not intended to turn non-clinical staff into infection control specialists. Its purpose is more practical. It helps people recognise common risks, apply safe routines, and know when to report concerns.
By the end of the training, learners should be able to:
Understand why infection prevention and control matters.
Recognise how infections spread.
Apply good hand hygiene practice.
Know when personal protective equipment, known as PPE, may be required.
Maintain high standards of personal hygiene.
Reduce infection risks before, during, and after visits.
Respond appropriately when someone has symptoms of infectious illness.
Understand their reporting responsibilities.
Help protect people who may be vulnerable to infection.
Follow relevant legislation, workplace procedures, and organisational policies.
Why infection prevention matters during visits
Companions often move between different homes, shared spaces, vehicles, and community settings. Each visit may involve contact with door handles, chairs, drinking glasses, mobility aids, tissues, laundry, pets, bins, or shared facilities.
Most of these contacts are routine. The risk becomes higher when infection control habits slip, or when someone is already unwell.
Infections can affect anyone, but some people face greater risk of serious illness. This may include:
Older adults.
People with long-term health conditions.
People with weakened immune systems.
People recovering from surgery or hospital treatment.
People who need support with personal care, meals, mobility, or medication prompts.
People living in shared or busy households.
Good infection prevention is not only about protecting the client. It also protects staff, volunteers, families, other clients, and the wider community. If one person carries an infection from one home to another, the impact may spread quickly.
That is why Infection Prevention and Control Awareness Training for Safer Care focuses on small, repeatable actions. These actions include effective handwashing, clean clothing, safe use of PPE, careful waste handling, and prompt reporting of symptoms or concerns.
How infections spread
Infections are caused by harmful organisms such as bacteria, viruses, fungi, or parasites. These organisms can move from person to person, from surfaces to hands, or through droplets in the air.
A useful way to understand infection spread is the “chain of infection”. If one part of the chain is broken, the spread can often be stopped.
The main links are:
The infectious agent
This is the organism that may cause illness, such as a virus or bacterium.
The source
The source may be a person, contaminated surface, body fluid, waste, food, water, or equipment.
The way out
Infection can leave the source through coughing, sneezing, blood, vomit, diarrhoea, broken skin, or other bodily fluids.
The way it travels
Germs may travel by hands, droplets, shared items, contaminated surfaces, or poor food hygiene.
The way in
Infection may enter through the mouth, nose, eyes, broken skin, or medical devices.
The person at risk
Some people are more likely to become unwell because of age, health conditions, medication, or reduced immunity.
During a home visit, the most common routes of spread are often hands and surfaces. A Companion may touch a gate, doorbell, handrail, phone, tissue box, kettle, mug, remote control, or shopping bag. If hands are not cleaned at the right times, germs can move with ease.
Hand hygiene is the foundation of IPC
Hand hygiene is one of the most effective infection prevention measures. It is simple, low cost, and works across many settings when done correctly.
Hands should be cleaned:
Before entering a client’s home, where practical.
On arrival and before starting support.
Before preparing or handling food.
Before supporting with eating or drinking.
After using the toilet.
After coughing, sneezing, or blowing the nose.
After handling used tissues, waste, laundry, or cleaning materials.
After contact with bodily fluids.
After removing gloves or other PPE.
Before leaving the home or moving to another visit.
Soap and water should be used when hands are visibly dirty, after using the toilet, and after possible contact with diarrhoea or vomit. Alcohol hand rub can be useful when hands are not visibly dirty and washing facilities are not available, but it should be used according to local guidance.
Good technique matters. A quick rinse is not enough. Learners should know how to wash all hand surfaces, including fingertips, thumbs, between fingers, wrists, and under rings where applicable. Jewellery should be kept to a minimum if it interferes with hand hygiene or creates a risk.
Hand hygiene also includes skin care. Cracked or sore skin can make effective cleaning harder and may increase infection risk. Any persistent skin problem linked to work activity should be reported according to organisational procedure.
Personal hygiene and safe presentation
Personal hygiene supports infection control and professional standards. Clothing should be clean, suitable for the visit, and changed if contaminated. Hair should be kept clean and tied back if needed. Fingernails should be clean and short enough to allow thorough hand hygiene.
Strong scents and heavily fragranced products may affect some clients, especially those with respiratory conditions or sensitivities. Practical, clean, low-risk presentation is best.
The course should also reinforce the need to stay away from client visits when unwell, particularly with symptoms such as fever, vomiting, diarrhoea, a new persistent cough, or other signs of contagious illness. Reporting sickness early helps coordinators manage visits safely and reduce the chance of spreading infection.
A safe culture depends on honesty. Staff and volunteers should feel able to report symptoms, exposure risks, or concerns without fear of blame.
When PPE may be required
PPE creates a barrier between the person wearing it and possible sources of infection. In community support roles, PPE may be needed in specific situations rather than for every task.
Common examples include:
Disposable gloves when contact with bodily fluids, waste, or contaminated items is likely.
Aprons when clothing may be exposed to contamination.
Face coverings or masks when required by policy, risk assessment, public health guidance, or the nature of the visit.
Eye protection where there is a risk of splashes, if this applies to the role and policy.
PPE only works when it is chosen correctly, put on properly, removed safely, and disposed of in the right way. Gloves are not a replacement for hand hygiene. Hands should be cleaned before putting gloves on and after taking them off.
The training should make clear that PPE must match the level of risk. Wearing PPE unnecessarily can create false confidence, waste supplies, and cause discomfort. Not wearing it when needed can expose people to avoidable harm.
Reducing risk before, during, and after visits
IPC is strongest when it becomes part of the visit routine rather than an afterthought.
Before a visit, staff and volunteers should check for relevant updates. If a client has reported symptoms of infection, the visit may need a risk assessment, extra precautions, or advice from a team leader or coordinator.
On arrival, hand hygiene should be completed as soon as practical. Any visible infection risks should be managed calmly. This might include used tissues on a table, soiled laundry, spills, or a client coughing frequently in a small room.
During the visit, safe practice may include:
Encouraging ventilation where appropriate and acceptable.
Avoiding unnecessary contact with personal items.
Cleaning hands between tasks.
Using PPE where the task or policy requires it.
Handling laundry and waste carefully.
Avoiding sharing cups, cutlery, towels, or personal items.
Supporting the client to follow their own hygiene routines where possible.
After the visit, hands should be cleaned again. Any concerns should be recorded and reported using the correct procedure. If clothing, equipment, or personal items have become contaminated, they should be managed safely before attending the next visit.
This does not mean treating every home as unsafe. It means respecting that infection risk can be present even when no one appears seriously ill.
Environmental cleanliness in home and community settings
Clean environments reduce the chance that germs will spread through touch. In a client’s home, staff and volunteers may not be responsible for full cleaning, but they do have a role in maintaining safe standards during the support they provide.
High-touch areas deserve attention. These may include:
Door handles.
Light switches.
Kitchen taps.
Toilet flushes.
Remote controls.
Chair arms.
Handrails.
Mobility aids.
Phones and tablets.
Food preparation surfaces.
Cleaning should follow the organisation’s policy and the client’s care or support plan. Products should be used safely and never mixed. Any chemical or cleaning product risk should be managed in line with instructions and local procedures.
Food hygiene also matters. Anyone handling food should wash hands before preparation, use clean surfaces and utensils, and avoid preparing food when unwell with vomiting or diarrhoea symptoms. Chilled food, cooked food, and leftovers should be handled with care according to food safety guidance.
Responding to infectious illness
A key part of IPC is knowing what to do when symptoms appear. The response should be prompt, calm, and proportionate.
Common signs that may need action include:
Vomiting or diarrhoea.
Fever or chills.
New or worsening cough.
Rash or unexplained skin infection.
Flu-like symptoms.
Eye discharge or redness.
Wounds that look infected.
Sudden change in wellbeing.
Staff and volunteers should not attempt to diagnose. The role is to observe, reduce immediate risk, support the person appropriately, and report concerns through the correct route.
If a client appears seriously unwell, emergency procedures should be followed. If the situation is not urgent but infection is suspected, a team leader, coordinator, manager, or relevant healthcare contact may need to be informed, depending on policy and consent requirements.
Confidentiality still applies. Information about a person’s health must be shared only with those who need to know for safety, care, or legal reasons.
Reporting responsibilities and policy awareness
Clear reporting helps organisations respond early. It can prevent missed patterns, such as several clients developing similar symptoms after contact with the same setting or service.
Learners should understand what to report, who to report to, and how quickly action is needed. This may include:
Personal sickness that could affect safe visiting.
Client symptoms that may indicate infection.
Exposure to bodily fluids.
Accidental contamination.
PPE shortages or incorrect use.
Cleaning concerns.
Unsafe waste handling.
Any incident that may increase infection risk.
Organisations should also make sure their IPC guidance aligns with relevant UK health and safety duties, public health advice, data protection requirements, and internal policies. In practice, learners do not need to memorise every law. They need to know the standards that apply to their role and where to find help.
Training records should be kept up to date. Since MT22 has a refresher period of every 3 years, coordinators and managers should monitor renewal dates so knowledge does not become outdated.
Assessment and successful completion
MT22 includes an assessment made up of 10 randomly selected questions from a bank of 15. The pass mark is 80%, so learners need to show that they understand the main principles and can apply them to everyday situations.
The assessment should test practical judgement, not just memory. Good questions may ask what to do before preparing food, when to report symptoms, why gloves do not replace hand hygiene, or how to respond if a client has vomiting and diarrhoea.
A learner who completes the course successfully should be able to answer three core questions with confidence:
How do I reduce the risk of spreading infection during a visit?
What should I do if I or someone I visit may be infectious?
Who do I report concerns to, and when?
The real value of IPC awareness
Infection prevention is built through consistent behaviour. One hand wash may seem small. One report may feel routine. One decision to stay away from visits while unwell may feel inconvenient. Together, these actions protect vulnerable people and help services continue safely.
MT22 gives staff and volunteers a shared standard. It helps everyone use the same language, follow the same expectations, and respond to infection risks before they become wider problems.
Safer care does not rely on complicated systems alone. It relies on people noticing risk, taking simple precautions, and speaking up when something is not right. That is the lasting value of Infection Prevention & Control Awareness training.
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