FOI – 2024-000281 National Infection Prevention and Control Manual (NIPCM) (HTML)

Date received – 30 July 2024 | Date responded – 27 August 2024

Request

In response to our Freedom of Information request to the Scottish Government, we have been advised by the Deputy Chief Nursing Officer for Healthcare Associated Infections and Antimicrobial Resistance that your department may be able to assist us with our request.

We would be grateful if you could please provide us with the following information in your possession: all versions of the National Infection Prevention and Control Manual (NIPCM) in place from the period 1 January 2018 – present.

Response

I refer to your freedom of information request that we received on 30 July 2024 requesting the following information:

In response to our Freedom of Information request to the Scottish Government, we have been advised by the Deputy Chief Nursing Officer for Healthcare Associated Infections and Antimicrobial Resistance that your department may be able to assist us with our request.

We would be grateful if you could please provide us with the following information in your possession: all versions of the National Infection Prevention and Control Manual (NIPCM) in place from the period 1 January 2018 – present.

We have now completed the search of our records and can provide you with the following information:

Under section 17 of the Freedom of Information Scotland Act, 2002 (FOISA), an organisation does not have to provide that information if it does not hold it. National Services Scotland (NSS) do not hold versions of the National Infection Prevention and Control Manual (NIPCM). This is because the NIPCM is a live document which can be found here: National Infection Prevention and Control Manual: Home (scot.nhs.uk).

Additionally, we have attached Appendix 1 – NIPCM Timeline, which details a summary of updates made since inception in 2012 to present. Please note not all changes have version numbers as it has been updated in real time for the last few years. We also have an archive of associated materials which were developed during COVID-19. These can be found here: National Infection Prevention and Control Manual: COVID-19 NIPCM Archives (scot.nhs.uk).

I trust you will find the information of assistance and if you require any further information, please do not hesitate to contact us.

If you are unhappy with any aspect of how we have dealt with your request, you can make representations to us asking us to review the handling of your request.

If you require any further information, please contact Associate Director, Governance and Board Services (Board Secretary) within 40 working days of the date of this correspondence.

Contact

Address

If after a review you are still unhappy, you also have the right to apply to the Scottish Information Commissioner, who can be contacted at Kinburn Castle, St Andrews, Fife, KY16 9DS, or via their application form.

National Services Scotland (NSS) is committed to publishing all information released in response to Freedom of Information requests. You can view all FOI responses within our FOI Publications repository.