Why ANTT Matters in Community Care

This year Sciensus became the first national community care provider to achieve and retain ANTT® Gold Accreditation by embedding excellence through training and practice. Queen’s Nurse Helen Adshead describes their journey.

Introduction

As a Specialist Practice Development Nurse at Sciensus, I’ve seen firsthand how infection prevention can make or break patient safety in community care. Unlike hospitals, where controlled environments support aseptic technique, home healthcare presents unique challenges. Yet, maintaining aseptic standards is essential to prevent avoidable harm.

That’s why we embraced the Aseptic Non-Touch Technique (ANTT®) framework as a cornerstone of our clinical practice. This year, I was proud to share our journey at the ANTT Conference 2025, presenting how Sciensus became the first national community care provider to achieve and retain ANTT Gold Accreditation. This achievement reflects our commitment to excellence, innovation, and patient safety.

Why ANTT Matters in Community Care

Community nursing is different. Every home is unique, and clinicians must adapt while maintaining the highest standards of infection prevention. ANTT provides a structured, evidence-based approach to aseptic technique, ensuring procedures such as line care, wound dressing, and medication administration are performed safely.

The stakes are high: healthcare-associated infections can lead to serious complications, hospital admissions, and increased costs. By embedding ANTT principles into our practice, we’ve improved patient outcomes and empowered nurses with confidence and clarity to deliver safe care consistently.

Our Journey to Gold Accreditation

Achieving ANTT Gold Accreditation was not an overnight success, it was the result of a sustained, organisation-wide effort. Our vision was clear: standardise aseptic technique across all community services and make infection prevention a shared responsibility.

Key steps included:

• Comprehensive Training: Every clinician completed ANTT training, supported by workshops and competency assessments.
• Robust Auditing: Regular audits monitor compliance and identifies areas for improvement.
• Staff Engagement: Forums for feedback allowed frontline nurses to share challenges and solutions.
• Leadership Support: Our clinical education team worked closely with operational leaders to embed ANTT into policy and practice.

This collaborative approach paid off. Not only did we achieve Gold Accreditation, but we retained it, demonstrating that our commitment to ANTT is a sustained standard of care.

Impact and Outcomes

The results speak for themselves:

• 35% reduction in infection rates, significantly improving patient safety.
• Positive staff feedback, with nurses reporting increased confidence and clarity.
• Enhanced patient trust, as families feel reassured by consistent, professional care.

Showcasing at the ANTT Conference

Presenting our poster at the ANTT Conference 2025 was a proud moment. Our poster “Leading the Way: First National Community Care Provider to Achieve and Retain ANTT® Gold Accreditation – Embedding Excellence Through Training and Practice” outlined the steps we took and the measurable impact on patient outcomes. The event brought together clinicians, educators, and leaders passionate about infection prevention, creating a vibrant space for learning and collaboration. We had some good conversations with attendees, and the recognition we received was significant. The ANTT originator commented:

“It was a pleasure to help showcase the great work of Sciensus in leading the way for Gold level ANTT Accreditation in the Home Care Sector. We have been impressed by the commitment of your organisation and your many staff in implementing and maintaining ANTT over some years now. No doubt this has and continues to impact on the outcome and safety of your patients.”

This endorsement reinforces the impact of our sustained commitment to infection prevention and patient safety.

Looking Ahead

Learning from the conference, sustainability is now a central priority alongside infection prevention. Future plans include:

• Leveraging digital tools for real-time auditing and feedback.
• Collaborating across the sector to share best practice and promote greener, more responsible approaches.

Gold Accreditation is not just a badge, it represents a culture of excellence, innovation, and accountability. By sharing our journey, I hope to inspire others to adopt ANTT and join us in shaping a safer, more sustainable future for community care.

About the Author

My name is Helen Adshead, and I’m honoured to hold the title of Queen’s Nurse. As a Specialist Practice Development Nurse at Sciensus, I bring over 18 years of nursing experience – split between acute hospital care and the community. I’m passionate about empowering nurses through education and improving infection prevention practices to keep patients safe at home. Recently, I contributed to a national white paper on rare disease care and shared our innovative approach at the ANTT Conference 2025.

About Sciensus

Sciensus is a European leader in integrated end-to-end commercial services, supporting patients, health systems, providers and biopharma companies. It offers distribution services, clinical care at home, digital solutions and patient insights to accelerate access to medicines and maximise product launches from clinical to full commercialisation.

Sciensus is a QICN Member Organisation. To find out more about Organisational Membership, visit our webpage.