Moving forward with confidence

Next month the doors will open on the largest infection prevention event in the country run by the Infection Prevention Society (IPS). Following the successful 2009 conference in Harrogate, the event is moving to Bournemouth for two years. Over 700 delegates and visitors attended the event in Harrogate, last year, and the Scientific Programme Committee has been hard at work, ever since, planning the programme for this September. This year’s event is brimming with expert speakers and topical subjects. With over 50 speakers, making a decision on which sessions to attend will be a challenge. Some of the main highlights include the following:

Conference programme

The EM Cottrell Lecture, dedicated to the first infection control nurse appointed in the UK, will cover the evolving role of epidemiology in infection prevention. This topic is being presented by Professor Jacqui Reilly, head of the Healthcare Associated Infection and Infection Control Group, Health Protection Scotland. She will be reviewing the historical contribution of epidemiology to infection prevention and describing the role of epidemiology in our current understanding of healthcare-associated infection (HCAI). This popular speaker will also consider how epidemiology will continue to evolve and contribute to infection prevention. The second eponymous lecture is the Ayliffe Lecture, entitled: “Preventing and controlling ESBLs, the future is here”. Professor Hilary Humphreys, professor of clinical microbiology and head of department at the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, and consultant microbiologist at Beaumont Hospital, Dublin, will provide an overview of Extended-Spectrum Beta-Lactamases (ESBLs). He will discuss the interface across hospitals and community, as well as providing delegates information on prevention and management strategies.