Can we really make a difference and reduce healthcare-associated infections?

Our strategy for 2020-2025 is (simply) to support healthcare professionals to manage, prevent and control HCAIs.

As a learned society, we champion the infection specialties, and we do our best to highlight how important it is for healthcare workers to prevent and control HCAIs. 

As a membership organisation, we prioritise the development of activities for our members, and welcome the wider infection prevention and control community.  Our activities intend to support our members to deliver the best possible clinical practice and patient care at all stages of the care pathway. Our membership categories are intended to support individuals to become experts in infection prevention and control (IPC) and HCAIs, and help them with their continued professional development when they get there.

As a charity, our public benefit is clear – because we deliver expert-led activities and resources, we support healthcare workers who are experts in the prevention and control of HCAIs.  They improve patient care and save lives every day.

Strong...and stable?

The Healthcare Infection Society is thriving, of that there is no doubt. 

• Although the infection specialty is a relatively small one (there are 418 trainees enrolled on CIT, ID and MM and/or MV, and 1,311 consultants - GMC data, 2018) our membership is currently 1,110.
• We run an extensive programme of expert-led events and training which regularly sell-out and receive excellent feedback.
• We have two successful journals.  This year the impact factor of the Journal of Hospital Infection increased again to 3.704, and we recorded over 1,000 article submissions. Our new gold open access journal Infection Prevention in Practice has now published 16 articles with another 5 to follow shortly.
• Our financial position is strong, and we have >£8m in assets. 

Preparing for change

• Because we are delivering more activities, and creating more resources than we have ever done, we are spending our reserves faster than we are replenishing them.  Although this is a deliberate financial strategy, we are mindful that our income from journal subscription sales is under threat. 
• Learned societies and membership organisations may not be seen as being as valuable as they once were.  Historically, society membership subscriptions were a necessity in order to access information. The internet has had a huge impact on knowledge acquisition and sharing, and not always in a good way.

Our strategy will help us to be ready for the changes ahead.  We know that infection training is changing, and we know that how infections are managed within healthcare settings is changing.  We know that people want to access information quickly, and free of charge.

Our strategy outlines how we intend to support our members and the professional development of healthcare workers at all stages of their career.  It also describes our plans to fund, develop and communicate research and collaborate with others.  Finally, our strategy includes an objective to safeguard and invest in our future.  

We need your help

We won't make a difference to the levels of HCAIs without you.  We need the help of our members and the wider IPC community to make a difference and deliver our strategy, and we would like committed healthcare workers who have a passion for IPC and HCAIs to get involved with HIS. 

We have developed a new committee structure in order to help us achieve our new objectives, and encourage you (whether you are an expert, or an aspiring expert in IPC and HCAIs) to get involved. 

Call for committee members

HIS Council is now calling for nominations for new members of the following committees

• Professional Development Committee
• Research Committee
• Guidelines Committee
• Trainee Committee

Information on how to apply for a role on a new HIS committee can be found here.