Infection Prevention and Control Training: Evolution, Reflection and the Road Ahead

Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) has always been more than just a module to complete on ESR.

It’s a mindset, a culture, and a commitment that sits at the heart of safe, effective, and compassionate healthcare. Yet, over the past few years, how we teach and measure IPC competence has evolved dramatically, not just for myself and my team, but for all of us in the field — and rightly so.

As we continue to adapt to new national guidance and technology-enhanced learning, we’re faced with a vital question: how do we balance efficiency and compliance with genuine learning and behavioural change?

From Tick-Box to Transformation

For many years, IPC training sat firmly within the “Statutory and Mandatory” category — the annual ritual of logging into e-learning, clicking through slides, passing a short quiz, and printing a certificate. It served a purpose: ensuring every member of staff received at least a baseline understanding of standard precautions, transmission routes, and safe working practices.

But as infection control has become more complex and dynamic — shaped by emerging pathogens, evolving antimicrobial resistance, and lessons learned from COVID-19 — it’s become clear that compliance alone doesn’t guarantee competence.

Healthcare isn’t static, and neither should learning be. The pandemic reminded us that the greatest defence we have isn’t policy alone, but people who understand why their actions matter and how to adapt when guidance changes overnight.

The Shift in IPC Learning

Over recent years, NHS England has been reviewing and refining how Statutory and Mandatory training is delivered across the system. The Core Skills Training Framework (CSTF) now forms the backbone of this, standardising the level and frequency of learning across all organisations.

In 2024, a significant update to IPC Level 1 and 2 modules reflected this rationalisation. Level 1 — for all staff, including contractors and volunteers — now refreshes every three years, while Level 2 — for staff involved in direct patient care — remains annual but has been streamlined to save time and reduce duplication.

On paper, this is a welcome development: fewer hours spent repeating the same content, more consistency across the NHS, and the opportunity to reinvest time into frontline care.

However, this efficiency also raises a challenge — one we must meet with creativity and purpose. If learning time is reduced, how do we ensure depth isn’t sacrificed for speed?

Refocusing on Assessment, Not Attendance

The future of IPC training must go beyond digital completion rates. It’s about embedding infection prevention into the DNA of daily practice — making it second nature rather than a scheduled task.

To do this, we need to focus on assessment of learning rather than just training delivery. The most powerful learning often happens not in front of a computer, but in the moment — during a reflective discussion, a peer observation, or a clinical huddle.

Imagine if every hand hygiene audit included a question about the why behind each moment. Or if PPE checks became mini coaching sessions on contamination risks. Imagine link nurses facilitating short reflective scenarios in real time, not as an add-on, but as part of how we work.

Myself, Sarah and Becca developed a podcast as a fun, entertaining but informative way to share IPC information, education and knowledge in an easily digestible, alternate format. It has been a small success, enjoyed by many colleagues in and around Hertfordshire and reinforced to us how you can present the same information in a slight different way and gain a whole new audience.

That’s where we see genuine behaviour change — and that’s where IPC learning becomes lived experience.

The Future: Smarter, Contextual, Human

Looking ahead, IPC education needs to be:

• Blended: combining e-learning for consistency with local, practice-based discussions for context.

• Data-driven: using audit findings and incident trends to shape future training priorities.

• Role-relevant: focusing training where risk exists, not where repetition adds little value.

• Culturally embedded: making IPC part of safety culture conversations, appraisals, and team reflections.

• Empowering: allowing staff to show competence through practice — not just multiple-choice answers.

  
  

I beleive this is where infection prevention becomes truly owned by the workforce — where staff don’t just follow rules but understand their rationale, challenge poor practice, and innovate in how they keep patients safe.

Our Responsibility as IPC Leaders

As IPC professionals, we’re not only guardians of safe practice — we’re educators, influencers, and storytellers. We translate national frameworks into meaningful local action.

Our role in the coming years will be to champion learning that is flexible, relevant, and human. To support colleagues in understanding that IPC isn’t about ticking boxes but about protecting lives — theirs, their patients’, and their families’.

Because infection prevention isn’t a course. It’s a culture.

And as that culture evolves, our training must evolve with it — smarter, leaner, but never losing the heart of why we do what we do.