IPC Partners

In this Insight Webinar, Dr Jon Otter (Director of Infection Prevention and Control) provides a timely, evidence-based overview of the recent UK outbreak of invasive meningococcal disease (IMD), with a focus on infection prevention and control (IPC) implications across healthcare and community settings. The session covers the evolving public health situation, key microbiological and epidemiological principles of Neisseria meningitidis, and practical IPC considerations for clinicians, IPC teams, and public health professionals. Topics covered include: - The current UK IMD outbreak: what we know so far - Microbiology and epidemiology of Neisseria meningitidis - Colonisation vs invasive disease – why context matters - Transmission dynamics and why IMD is usually hard to spread - Clinical presentation, outcomes, and case fatality - Vaccination, chemoprophylaxis, and public health response - IPC precautions in healthcare and non-healthcare settings - Lessons learned and future research priorities This webinar is aimed at IPC professionals, clinicians, microbiologists, public health teams, and students, and forms part of the IPC Partners Insight Webinar series. #InfectionPrevention #MeningococcalDisease #IMD #IPC #PublicHealth #Microbiology #HealthcareEpidemiology #Webinar #IPCPartners

📅 Recorded: 18 March 2026 ⏱ Duration: 44 minutes 🎙 Host: Dr Jon Otter 🎓 Guest speaker: Dr Beatriz Larru Martinez (Consultant in Paediatric Infectious Diseases & Infection Prevention) In this IPC Partners Journal Club, Dr Beatriz Larru Martinez presents and critically appraises a major US study evaluating hospital‑onset bacteraemia and fungaemia as a potential healthcare quality and patient safety metric. The session explores whether hospital‑onset bacteraemia could complement or improve on existing surveillance approaches, particularly in settings where traditional metrics may miss a substantial proportion of preventable harm. Drawing on evidence from large multi‑centre studies and paediatric data, the discussion considers 'preventability', risk adjustment, and the practical implications for surveillance, benchmarking, and quality improvement. Key topics include: - What is hospital‑onset bacteraemia and how is it defined? - Strengths and limitations of CLABSI as a surveillance metric - Preventable vs non‑preventable bacteraemia - The role of vascular access (central and peripheral lines) - Gut translocation, contaminants, and overlooked sources of harm - Denominator choice and inter‑hospital comparison - Implications for IPC practice, automation, and patient safety As always, the session features an interactive Q&A and wide‑ranging discussion around how surveillance metrics influence behaviour, improvement, and outcomes. 🔔 Subscribe for future Journal Clubs and IPC Partners Insight Webinars 📚 More recordings: Available on the IPC Partners YouTube channel 🌐 Live events and registration: See IPC Partners website

In this Insight Webinar, Dr Jessica Martin, Consultant Microbiologist and Medical Lead for Infection Prevention at Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, explores how healthcare organisations can recognise, assess and manage water and wastewater hygiene risks in hospitals. Hosted by IPC Partners, the Healthcare Infection Society, and the Infection Prevention Society, and chaired Dr Jon Otter with Dr Phil Norville, this session goes beyond traditional water safety approaches to examine the growing evidence linking the built environment, water systems, wastewater and antimicrobial resistance to patient safety. 🔍 Key topics covered include: - Water hygiene risks beyond Legionella and Pseudomonas - The role of wastewater, drainage and biofilms in AMR transmission - Lessons from healthcare-associated outbreaks linked to water systems - Leadership, governance and multidisciplinary working - Practical risk assessment on wards (“putting your water goggles on”) - Sink placement, splash risk and drainage design - Responding to blockages, leaks and flooding events - Training, education and the importance of professionally trained staff to clean sinks - Reactive vs proactive water-safe care - Challenges and unintended consequences of sink removal - Future directions for surveillance, monitoring and hospital design This webinar is aimed at: - Infection Prevention & Control professionals - Microbiologists - Estates and engineering teams - Facilities and cleaning teams - Clinical leaders and patient safety teams - Anybody with an interest in water hygiene in healthcare 🎓 CPD This event was accredited for 1 CPD point by the Royal College of Pathologists. 📺 About Insight Webinars Insight Webinars are delivered in partnership with the Healthcare Infection Society (HIS), the Infection Prevention Society (IPS) and IPC Partners, providing expert-led discussion on key IPC and patient safety topics. 👉 Subscribe to the IPC Partners YouTube channel for more Insight Webinars and Journal Clubs. #WaterHygiene #InfectionPrevention #PatientSafety #IPC #AMR #BuiltEnvironment #HealthcareFacilities #WaterSafety #NHS