Plain-English explanations of the technical terms and legislation used in this document.
- Accident and emergency (A&E)
- The hospital department that treats people needing urgent or emergency care.
- Anatomical waste
- Waste consisting of recognisable body parts or tissue, which must be disposed of separately and respectfully.
- Antisepsis
- Cleaning the skin with a chemical agent to kill or reduce germs before a procedure that breaks the skin.
- Aseptic non-touch technique (ANTT)
- A standard way of carrying out procedures so the parts that must stay sterile are never touched and cannot be contaminated.
- Autoclave
- A machine that sterilises instruments using pressurised steam at high temperature.
- Bioburden
- The amount of living contamination, such as bacteria, present on an instrument before it is cleaned and sterilised.
- Biofilm
- A thin, sticky layer of bacteria that can build up on tissue or a device and is hard to treat.
- Blood-borne virus (BBV)
- An infection such as hepatitis B, hepatitis C or HIV that can be passed on through blood.
- Botulinum toxin
- A prescription-only medicine injected to relax muscles and reduce wrinkles.
- Cannula
- A thin, usually blunt-tipped tube inserted under the skin to deliver a substance such as a dermal filler.
- Care Quality Commission (CQC)
- The independent regulator of health and social care services in England.
- Chaperone
- A trained person present during an intimate examination to support and protect the patient and the clinician.
- Chlorhexidine
- An antiseptic commonly used to clean skin before injections or surgery.
- Clinical governance
- The system through which an organisation is accountable for, and continually improves, the quality and safety of its care.
- Cold chain
- Keeping vaccines and certain medicines within a safe temperature range from delivery to use.
- Consignment note
- The legal record tracking hazardous waste from the place it is produced to the place it is treated or disposed of.
- Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 2002 (COSHH)
- The law for safely managing chemicals and other hazardous substances at work.
- Cytostatic and cytotoxic waste
- Waste from medicines that can harm cells, which must be segregated and disposed of separately because of its toxic properties.
- Decontamination
- The combined process of cleaning, disinfecting and, where needed, sterilising equipment so it is safe to reuse.
- Dermal filler
- A gel-like substance injected under the skin to smooth lines or add volume.
- Duty of candour
- The legal duty to be open and honest with a person and their family when something goes wrong with their care.
- Electrosurgery
- A treatment that uses a high-frequency electrical current to cut tissue or stop bleeding.
- Environmental Protection Act 1990
- The law setting out how waste, including hazardous waste, must be managed and disposed of safely.
- Excursion (temperature)
- A period when a fridge or store goes outside its safe temperature range, which may make medicines unusable.
- FFP3 respirator
- A tight-fitting filtering face mask (filtering face piece, class 3) that gives the highest standard of protection against airborne particles.
- Fit testing
- A check that a tight-fitting respirator forms a proper seal on a particular person's face.
- Hazardous Waste (England and Wales) Regulations 2005
- The law controlling how harmful waste is stored, transported and disposed of in England and Wales.
- Health and Safety (Sharps Instruments in Healthcare) Regulations 2013
- The law requiring safe systems for using and disposing of needles and other sharp instruments in healthcare.
- Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974
- The main law setting out the general duty of employers to protect the health and safety of staff and others.
- Health and Safety Executive (HSE)
- The national body responsible for enforcing health and safety law in workplaces.
- Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014
- The regulations setting the fundamental standards that providers of regulated care must meet, enforced by the Care Quality Commission.
- Health Protection Team
- The local public-health team that helps investigate and control outbreaks of infection.
- Health Technical Memorandum (HTM)
- Official guidance setting standards for the design, safety and operation of healthcare facilities and equipment, such as decontamination (HTM 01-05) and waste management (HTM 07-01).
- Healthcare-associated infection (HCAI)
- An infection that a person picks up as a result of receiving healthcare or treatment.
- Hepatitis B
- A blood-borne virus that infects the liver and can be prevented by vaccination.
- Hygiene Code
- The official code of practice (under the Health and Social Care Act 2008) setting out how providers should prevent and control infection.
- Infection prevention and control (IPC)
- The measures used to stop infection spreading between patients, staff and visitors.
- Inoculation injury
- An injury, such as a needlestick, that could expose a person to another's blood or body fluids.
- Intense pulsed light (IPL)
- A skin treatment that uses broad-spectrum light for purposes such as hair removal or improving skin tone.
- Key part / key site
- In aseptic technique, the parts of equipment (key parts) and the area of the patient (key site) that must be kept free of germs.
- Local exhaust ventilation
- Equipment that captures and removes harmful fumes, vapour or surgical plume at the point where they are produced.
- Lumened instrument
- An instrument with a narrow internal channel, which is harder to clean and sterilise than a solid one.
- Medical Devices Regulations 2002
- The law governing the safety, marketing and use of medical devices in the United Kingdom.
- Microneedling
- A treatment that uses fine needles to make tiny punctures in the skin to encourage repair.
- Multi-dose vial
- A medicine container designed to be used for more than one dose, which carries a contamination risk if not handled carefully.
- Near miss
- An event that could have caused harm but did not, by chance or because it was caught in time.
- Nominated Individual
- The senior person responsible to the regulator for supervising how a service is provided.
- Non-tuberculous mycobacteria
- A group of environmental bacteria that can cause stubborn infections, sometimes linked to injectable treatments or contaminated water.
- Notifiable safety incident
- An incident a provider is legally required to report, for example to the regulator, because of the harm or potential harm caused.
- Personal protective equipment (PPE)
- Items such as gloves, aprons and masks worn to protect against harm or infection.
- Personal Protective Equipment Regulations 2002
- The law requiring suitable protective equipment to be provided and used where risks cannot otherwise be controlled.
- Post-exposure prophylaxis
- Medical treatment given soon after possible exposure to an infection to reduce the chance of becoming infected.
- Povidone-iodine
- An antiseptic used to clean skin before a procedure, often as an alternative to chlorhexidine.
- Practising privileges
- An arrangement allowing an independent practitioner to work at a clinic or hospital they do not own or employ them.
- Prescription-only medicine (POM)
- A medicine that may lawfully be supplied only on the instruction of an appropriate prescriber.
- Registered Manager
- The person registered with the regulator as responsible for the day-to-day running of a service.
- Regulated activity
- A type of care or treatment the law requires a provider to register with the regulator to deliver.
- Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 2013 (RIDDOR)
- The law requiring certain workplace injuries, diseases and dangerous events to be reported to the Health and Safety Executive.
- Reverse osmosis (RO) water
- Highly purified water used in sterilisers to avoid mineral build-up and protect the equipment.
- Risk assessment
- A structured check identifying what could cause harm and what is being done to prevent it.
- Sharps
- Needles, blades and other items that can cut or puncture the skin.
- Single assessment framework
- The structure the regulator uses to judge a service, built around quality statements and five key questions (safe, effective, caring, responsive, well-led).
- Single-patient-use device
- A reusable device that may be reused on the same person but never on anyone else.
- Single-use device
- A device intended to be used once on one person and then thrown away; it must never be cleaned and reused.
- Skin peel
- A treatment that applies a chemical solution to remove outer layers of skin and improve its appearance.
- Spore-forming infection
- An infection caused by organisms that form tough, protective spores (such as Clostridioides difficile) which resist alcohol hand rub, so soap and water must be used.
- Standard infection control precautions (SICPs)
- The basic infection-control measures that all staff apply to all patients, all of the time.
- Statement of Purpose
- A required document describing who a service is, what it does and where, shared with the regulator.
- Sterilisation
- A process that destroys all forms of microbial life on an instrument, making it safe to use inside the body.
- Summary of product characteristics (SmPC)
- The official document that tells healthcare staff how a medicine should be stored, prepared and used.
- Surgical plume
- The smoke or vapour created during laser, electrosurgical or similar procedures, which can contain harmful particles.
- Surveillance
- The ongoing, systematic collection and review of information, here used to detect and track infections.
- Thread lift
- A procedure that uses dissolvable threads inserted under the skin to lift and tighten it.
- Titre (antibody titre)
- A blood-test measure showing how much immunity a person has, for example after hepatitis B vaccination.
- UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA)
- The national body responsible for protecting the public from infectious diseases and other health threats.
- United Nations (UN) approved container
- A waste container that meets international standards for safely holding and transporting hazardous items such as sharps.
- Vacuum steriliser (type B / type S / type N)
- A type of steam steriliser; vacuum types (B and S) can sterilise wrapped or hollow instruments, while a non-vacuum type (N) is only for solid, unwrapped items used immediately.
- Washer-disinfector
- A machine that automatically cleans and disinfects instruments before they are sterilised.
- World Health Organization (WHO)
- The United Nations agency that sets international standards and guidance on health, including hand hygiene.