GPAtlasWhat it covers
How infection spreads through a GP practice, the standard precautions every member of staff uses, and the law that expects each worker to know their part. Hand hygiene, gloves and aprons, coughs, patients who arrive unwell, and when to stay off work. Keeping the building, shared equipment and cleaning products safe, sorting waste, and what to do about a spill, a stray needle, a needle injury or a leaking sample.
Who it is for
Everyone in a GP practice who does not give care: reception, administration, practice managers, cleaners, contractors, apprentices and volunteers. Clinical staff take Level 2, which builds on these outcomes.
By the end you will be able to
- Explain how infection spreads in a practice, and the part every member of staff plays.
- Clean your hands properly at the right moments, and use gloves and aprons only when needed.
- Cover coughs, report patients who arrive unwell, and recognise when you should stay off work.
- Keep surfaces, shared equipment and cleaning products safe, and put waste in the right bin.
- Respond safely to a spill, a stray needle, a needle injury or a leaking sample.
Modules
- How infection moves through a practice
- Clean hands and the right PPE
- Coughs, symptoms and staying off
- A clean building and safe waste
- Spills, sharps and samples
Your employer may ask you to refresh this every year rather than every three, and your practice's own infection prevention and control policy applies alongside anything you read here.
Content mapped to the learning outcomes of the Core Skills Training Framework (England) v1.1: Infection Prevention and Control, Level 1. Law named: Health and Social Care Act 2008, Code of Practice on the prevention and control of infections and related guidance.
Sources
- Core Skills Training Framework (England) Statutory/Mandatory Subject Guide v1.1, June 2021 (Skills for Health), Infection Prevention and Control: Key Learning Outcomes, Level 1, and refresher frequency (archived copy)
- Health and Social Care Act 2008: code of practice on the prevention and control of infections and related guidance (Department of Health and Social Care, updated 13 December 2022), including the ten criteria and Appendix C, primary medical care
- National infection prevention and control manual for England (NHS England, current version)
- Appendix 9: management of blood and body fluid spills (NHS England, national infection prevention and control manual)
- Chain of infection, National Infection Prevention and Control Manual: care home manual (NHS National Services Scotland, ARHAI Scotland)
- GP mythbuster 99: Infection prevention and control in general practice (Care Quality Commission, page updated 15 December 2025)
- National standards of healthcare cleanliness 2025 (NHS England): cleaning responsibilities and spillages
- Living safely with respiratory infections, including COVID-19 (UK Health Security Agency)
- Norovirus: what to do if you catch it and helping to stop the spread (UK Health Security Agency blog, 23 October 2025)
- Diarrhoea and vomiting (NHS website): stay off work until at least 2 days after symptoms stop
- Immunisation of healthcare and laboratory staff: the Green Book, chapter 12 (UK Health Security Agency)
- Needlestick or sharps injuries in health and social care: overview (Health and Safety Executive)
- The Health and Safety (Sharp Instruments in Healthcare) Regulations 2013, regulations 5, 7 and 8
- COSHH basics and COSHH and cleaners: key messages (Health and Safety Executive)
- Safe use of cleaning substances, Catering Information Sheet 22 (Health and Safety Executive): mixing bleach with acidic toilet cleaners or ammonia
- Managing pharmaceutical waste: unwanted medicines returned to a community pharmacy (NHS Specialist Pharmacy Service)
- Standard infection control precautions: national hand hygiene and personal protective equipment policy (NHS England)
GPAtlas is not accredited, verified or endorsed by Skills for Health or NHS England. Acceptance of this training is at the discretion of your employer, who remains responsible for confirming it meets local requirements. Your employer may require more frequent refreshers than the guidance period; the practice's own policy applies. Some pictures and films in our courses, and the film narration, are made with AI tools. We check every one for accuracy before we publish it.