Scotland Unveils 10-Year Integrated Infection Prevention Strategy for Health and Social Care

Scotland has become the first nation in the United Kingdom to publish an integrated infection prevention and control (IPC) strategy covering both health and social‑care settings. The 10‑year plan, titled “An Infection Prevention and Control Strategy for Scotland: Vision and Priority Statements,” sets out eight priority areas, including strengthened governance, proactive national and local IPC programmes, improved data and surveillance, and expanded education and training for the workforce.

The strategy aims to minimise preventable infection for everyone who accesses, uses or provides health and social care. It cites roughly 7,500 healthcare‑associated infection incidents each year in NHS Scotland, costing about £46.4 million. A 10 % reduction would free an estimated 5,800 bed‑days annually and allow treatment of around 1,700 additional elective patients. The plan will be followed by multi‑year action plans, with the first covering a three‑year implementation period. Chief Nursing Officer for Scotland, Professor Aisha Holloway, said the strategy is fundamental to safe, high‑quality care and builds on lessons learned from the Covid‑19 pandemic.