Every day, infection prevention and control professionals work behind the scenes to protect patients, reduce harm and support safe healthcare delivery.
As part of Infection Prevention Week, we’re sharing the work of Lisa White, Deputy Director of Infection Prevention and Control at East Kent Hospitals University NHS Foundation Trust, whose team’s innovative C.L.E.A.N. and C.L.E.A.N. TOGETHER campaigns demonstrate how targeted infection prevention interventions can deliver measurable improvements for patients and services.
When rates of Clostridioides difficile infection (C. Diff) began to rise across Kent and Medway, the infection prevention team at East Kent Hospitals recognised the need for a fresh approach. Rather than relying solely on traditional training methods, they developed a highly visible campaign that brought infection prevention messages directly into clinical areas.
Using the acronym C.L.E.A.N., the team focused on key infection prevention priorities including hand hygiene, personal protective equipment, line care, environmental cleaning, antimicrobial stewardship and needle safety.
Education was delivered through practical, bite-sized learning sessions within clinical settings, helping staff engage with focused infection prevention messages that could be immediately applied to patient care.
Building on the programme’s success, the Trust launched C.L.E.A.N. TOGETHER, extending the campaign beyond clinical teams to include environmental improvements and wider organisational engagement. The initiative focused on areas such as clutter reduction, waste segregation, linen management and maintaining clean care environments, reinforcing the role everyone plays in preventing infection.
The impact has been significant. Following implementation, trust-attributable C. Diff rates fell by more than 25%, alongside reductions in MRSA, MSSA and Klebsiella bacteraemias. Surgical site infections following neck of femur surgery also reduced, while staff hand hygiene compliance increased from 71% to 91.7%.
For Lisa White and the team at East Kent Hospitals, the project highlights the power of sustained education, multidisciplinary collaboration and visible leadership in infection prevention.
As we mark Infection Prevention Week, this work is a reminder that infection prevention is not a single intervention or one team’s responsibility. It is a collective effort that protects patients, supports healthcare staff and helps ensure services can continue to deliver safe, high-quality care.
Take-home message: Sustained, highly visible educational campaigns combined with focused environmental interventions can create lasting improvements in infection prevention practice and contribute to significant reductions in healthcare-associated infections.
This member story was shared by Lisa White, Deputy Director of Infection Prevention and Control at East Kent Hospitals University NHS Foundation Trust, as part of our Infection Prevention Week campaign celebrating the impact of infection prevention professionals across health and care services.
