This week is International Infection Prevention Week (19 to 25 October) which aims to shine a light on infection prevention each and every year.
This year’s theme is “Past, Present, Protected” and honours the dedicated professionals who protect patients, staff, and communities from healthcare and community associated infections.
This year we celebrate the journey from the plague doctors of the 1600s to the infection preventionists of tomorrow with three words that honour the history, the progress, and the promise of infection prevention “Past, Present, Protected”.
The history of outbreak control shows how societies moved from fear to evidence-based infection prevention using personal protective equipment (PPE), hand hygiene, surveillance, vaccination, trained healthcare workers, and public health systems.
Modern infection prevention and communicable disease control is the result of centuries of learning from outbreaks and improving how we protect patients, healthcare workers, and communities, and this week our infection prevention control teams across Lanarkshire would like everyone to be celebrated for the work they undertake to keep Lanarkshire safe.
This week is about celebrating people. From our specialist Infection Prevention and Control teams to colleagues delivering and supporting care across Lanarkshire, every one of us has a part to play in preventing infection and protecting others.
.‘Past, Present, Protected’ is a powerful reminder that today’s practice is built on generations of learning, and that each of us is now part of shaping what comes next.
That future is reflected in the newly published Health and Social Care Infection Prevention and Control Strategy, published on 27 July 2026.
The strategy sets out a ten-year vision and priorities to minimise preventable infection, support safer care and stronger systems, and embed a person-led, rights-based approach to infection prevention and control. It gives us a clear direction for the future and reinforces that infection prevention is something we all have a role in.
Thank you to everyone across NHS Lanarkshire for the contribution you make every day to keeping our patients, colleagues and communities safe. Together, we can make a difference.
