How to Prepare Your Annual IPC Statement: A Ten-Day Countdown for GP Practices
GP practices must publish an annual infection prevention and control statement under the Health and Social Care Act 2008 IPC Code of Practice. This countdown breaks the task into manageable daily steps so you meet regulatory requirements with confidence.
Why this matters for your practice
CQC inspectors expect to see evidence that practices publish an annual IPC statement and use it to demonstrate continuous improvement. The statement forms part of the evidence bundle under the Health and Social Care Act 2008 IPC Code of Practice, supporting CQC key question Safe and the well-led domain.
Publishing the statement shows patients and commissioners that your practice takes infection risks seriously. Keeping the process organised prevents last-minute panic when inspectors arrive or when PCN partners request assurance documentation.
Before you start
Block time in your calendar at least four weeks before your planned publication date, even though the drafting will take approximately ten working days. Confirm who will gather evidence, draft sections, secure clinical sign off, format the document, and publish it online. Create a shared folder where the team can deposit source materials, track progress, and store the final approved statement.
Ten-day preparation timetable
Days 1 to 2: Gather the evidence
Collect your audit results, training records, incident logs, and action plans covering the previous twelve months. Include environmental cleaning audits, sharps safety checks, waste management reviews, hand hygiene compliance data, and any outbreak or exposure incident investigations. Pull training records that show all staff completed IPC induction and annual refresher sessions. Retrieve minutes from IPC meetings, partner briefings, or PCN quality discussions that reference infection control themes.
Days 3 to 4: Draft the statement
Write a concise overview covering IPC leadership roles, key achievements, challenges encountered, and improvements made since the last statement. Reference your IPC policy, cleaning specifications, sharps safety procedures, and waste management arrangements so readers understand how risks are managed. Summarise training coverage, including the number of staff trained, completion rates, and any role-specific sessions for clinical or estates teams. Note any outbreaks managed during the year, describing control measures taken and lessons learned without disclosing patient identifiable information.
Days 5 to 6: Define forward actions
Set out your improvement priorities for the next twelve months. Assign a named lead and realistic deadline to each action. Explain how progress will be monitored, whether through quarterly audits, partner meetings, or spot checks. Link each action to wider quality improvement plans so the statement demonstrates how IPC integrates with clinical governance, workforce development, and premises management.
Days 7 to 8: Secure clinical approval
Share the draft with your IPC lead, registered manager, and GP partners. Capture their comments and confirm that all terminology aligns with current NHS England guidance and CQC quality statements. Check that references to regulations such as the Sharps Regulations 2013, HTM 07-01 for waste management, or HSE ACoP L8 for water safety are accurate and up to date. Revise sections where clarity or detail is needed to meet regulatory expectations.
Day 9: Prepare for publication
Format the statement for web publication, ensuring it meets accessibility standards such as clear headings, plain language, and sufficient colour contrast. Prepare a short patient-friendly summary that explains the statement's purpose and highlights one or two key improvements. Save both the full statement and summary as accessible PDFs that can be downloaded or printed.
Day 10: Publish and notify
Upload the statement to the practice website in a location that is easy to find, such as the policies or about us section. Record the publication date and web address so you can evidence compliance during future inspections. Notify all staff that the statement is live and remind them where to find it. Send a brief message to your PCN colleagues or federation partners if you share IPC arrangements across sites. Store proof of publication, including a screenshot of the live web page and any staff or patient communications, in your compliance evidence folder.
What to include in the statement
Describe your IPC leadership structure, including the IPC lead's name, role, and reporting lines to the registered manager and GP partners. Summarise the scope of your IPC policy, referencing environmental cleaning, sharps safety, waste management, communicable disease management, water safety arrangements, and biological safety procedures where relevant.
Share the outcome of key audits conducted during the year, such as environmental cleaning checks, sharps disposal reviews, and hand hygiene observations. Highlight improvements made, such as introducing safer sharps devices, enhancing cleaning schedules, or upgrading waste storage facilities. Reference any incidents managed, such as sharps injuries, exposure events, or suspected outbreaks, explaining control measures taken and learning applied without revealing sensitive case details.
Outline training coverage and completion rates. Note any updates made to procedures or guidance in response to changing NHS standards, such as the NHS Cleanliness Standards 2025 or revised National Infection Prevention and Control Manual for England.
Keep your evidence accessible
Maintain well organised folders for audits, meeting minutes, action trackers, incident logs, and training records. Use version numbers and dates on every document so inspectors can trace how evidence evolved over time. Store sensitive incident reviews or outbreak debriefs in restricted access folders, and reference their location from within the published statement rather than including full details.
Capture screenshots or logs showing when and where the statement was published, and keep copies of any communications sent to staff, patients, or partner organisations. This evidence demonstrates transparency and supports your compliance narrative during CQC inspections.
Review and continuous improvement
Run a short debrief within two weeks of publication. Ask your IPC lead, registered manager, and key contributors what worked well, what felt rushed or unclear, and what should change for next year. Record these reflections in your IPC meeting minutes so the learning informs future cycles.
Consider whether detailed audit templates, action tracking tools, or communication packs would save time or improve consistency, particularly if you work across multiple sites or federated arrangements. Premium resources can provide structure and reduce the burden on small teams managing complex compliance requirements.
Disclaimer
This guidance is for general information. It is not a substitute for legal, clinical, or specialist advice. Always seek professional support tailored to your practice.