Quality standard
This quality standard covers preventing and controlling infection in adults, young people and children receiving healthcare in primary, community and secondary care settings. It includes preventing healthcare-associated infections that develop because of treatment or from being in a healthcare setting. It describes high-quality care in priority areas for improvement.
It does not cover preventing surgical wound infections, which are included in NICE’s quality standard on surgical site infection.
NICE has also published a quality standard on healthcare-associated infections, specifically for hospitals and other secondary care services.
How to use NICE quality standards and how we develop them
Quality standards help you improve the quality of care you provide or commission. They apply in England and Wales (see the UK government website and Welsh government website). Decisions on how they apply in Scotland and Northern Ireland are made by ministers in the Scottish government and Northern Ireland Executive.
Find out how to use quality standards and how we develop them.