Reading List

This Reading List supports optical teams in the UK to implement proportionate infection prevention and control across community, multiple and hospital clinics, including domiciliary work. Each item links to authoritative guidance you can use for policy, training and day-to-day decisions.

Core standards and UK IPC guidance

• National infection prevention and control manual (NIPCM) for England Evidence-based national IPC guidance for all care settings in England to standardise SICPs and TBPs (updated July 2025).
• Health and Social Care Act 2008: code of practice on the prevention and control of infections Legal duties and governance expectations that CQC inspects against in England (December 2022).
• GOC Standard 12: Ensure a safe environment for your patients Regulatory standard requiring hygienic environments and equipment in optical practice, including hand hygiene and safe waste disposal.
• NICE quality standard QS61: Infection prevention and control Priority improvement statements for IPC across primary, community and secondary care (2014).

Cleaning and decontamination of optical equipment

• College of Optometrists: Infection control Optometry-specific IPC overview covering transmission routes, equipment, waste and accident response.
• College of Optometrists: Principles of cleaning, sterilisation and disinfection Practical decontamination advice for consulting room surfaces and devices, including when to clean, disinfect or sterilise.
• College of Optometrists: Re-using contact lenses and ophthalmic devices Step-by-step method and concentrations for disinfecting reusable contact devices and trial lenses to minimise prion and viral risks.
• RCOphth Ophthalmic Instrument Decontamination Ophthalmology-focused decontamination guidance relevant to slit lamps, tonometers and clinic devices (2016).

Hand hygiene and PPE

• NIPCM Chapter 1: Standard infection control precautions (SICPs) Defines everyday precautions for all patients in all settings, including hand hygiene, equipment and environmental measures.
• NIPCM Appendix 1: How to hand wash, step by step images Poster guidance for correct handwashing technique for staff and patients (September 2022).
• NIPCM Appendix 5b: PPE when applying transmission based precautions Quick reference for selecting PPE when applying TBPs in community or clinic settings.

Environmental cleaning, ventilation and waste

• National standards of healthcare cleanliness 2025 Benchmark cleaning standards, risk categories and auditing approach for all healthcare settings, adaptable to optical clinics (February 2025).
• Health Technical Memorandum 07-01: Safe and sustainable management of healthcare waste Waste segregation and disposal requirements to keep staff and patients safe and compliant (January 2024 update).
• HSE: Ventilation in the workplace How to assess and improve indoor air quality to reduce respiratory transmission risks in rooms and vehicles.

Community and domiciliary settings

• UKHSA infection prevention and control resource for adult social care Best practice IPC principles and outbreak links for care homes and domiciliary interfaces used by optical teams (March 2024).
• College of Optometrists: The domiciliary eye examination Practical considerations for safe domiciliary eye examinations, including kit, environment and consent.

Incidents, sharps and exposures

• HSE guidance on the Health and Safety (Sharp Instruments in Healthcare) Regulations 2013 Summary of employer duties and safe systems for preventing and managing sharps injuries in healthcare (April 2022 update).
• HSE: RIDDOR in health and social care When and how to report incidents such as sharps exposures under RIDDOR in health and social care (December 2024).
• NIPCM appendices: Appendix 9 management of blood and body fluid spills One-page flow for safe containment, disinfection and return-to-service after blood or body fluid spills (Appendix 9, August 2025).

Patient information and eye conditions

• NHS: Conjunctivitis Plain-language advice to support patient education and proportionate hygiene for contagious conjunctivitis (April 2024).