CHFT now has a small army of frontline Aseptic- Non Touch Training  (ANTT) assessors.

The latest recruits attended a training session in the lecture theatre at CRH hosted by our Infection Prevention and Control Team.

There has been a big drive since last autumn to build up the numbers and we now have 76 new assessors who can share knowledge with all their teams right across the Trust. Consultant Suneeta Techchandani was among them attending, becoming one of our first Consultant assessors.

ANTT is important as it is at the heart of so many procedures for our patients including all invasive procedures, lines, catheters and cannulations. Getting it right means the risk of an infection is reduced hugely.

One of the leading nurses on the drive to recruit, Karen Tomlinson, said: " This is so important for everyone at the Trust. It is the very foundation of good practice and means we are providing the safest care possible for patients in all areas of the Trust."

Dr Gavin Boyd, Infection Prevention and Control Doctor added “It’s great to see all the teams hard work paying off. Staff should now find it easier than ever to be assessed in ANTT, which is an important part of delivering safe care to our patients. I’m particularly happy to see Suneeta becoming an assessor and in doing so demonstrating that ANTT is as much a medical standard as it is a nursing standard”.