Hand Hygiene and the 5 Moments at Ireland Safety Training: accredited online infection prevention and control training with instant certificate for Ireland

Hand Hygiene and the 5 Moments

The five moments for hand hygiene, soap and water versus alcohol gel, the correct technique step by step, how long it takes and the mistakes that leave hands contaminated.

Hand hygiene is the single most effective way to prevent the spread of infection in any setting, and the most frequently skipped. The World Health Organization's five moments define exactly when hands must be cleaned during care, and the technique defines how. Both are audited in Irish hospitals and nursing homes, and both apply just as much in childcare, home care and kitchens.

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Infection Prevention and Control Course

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The Infection Prevention and Control Training Course at Ireland Safety Training is written to be clear for every learner, whatever your first language. Real workplace scenarios, clear photographs and readable text walk you through the chain of infection, the infection risk assessment, safe cleaning and waste routines and the hygiene habits that stop infections, one step at a time. This infection control course online follows Irish legislation, including the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act 2005 and the Biological Agents Regulations 2013 and 2020, and issues a recognised infection control certificate, accepted as proof of infection prevention training throughout Ireland, the UK and Europe. Start your infection control training now. Ireland Safety Training proudly serves learners across every county in Ireland, including Dublin, Cork, Galway, Limerick, Waterford, Kilkenny.

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Fully Accredited Infection Control Training, Recognised Across Ireland

Ireland Safety Training is operated by a legally registered company, and this infection prevention and control training course carries independent approval from leading professional bodies. Employers in Ireland, from Dublin and Cork to Galway, accept our certification without question, as do businesses across Ireland, the UK and Europe.

  • Approved by the Bodies That Matter This infection control course is CPD Certified and RoSPA Approved and follows HSA and HPSC guidance on infection prevention point by point, exactly the credentials Irish employers in healthcare, care, food and cleaning ask about before anyone starts a shift.
  • Grounded in Irish Legislation Every lesson maps to the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act 2005 and the Biological Agents Regulations 2013 and 2020: the written risk assessment that decides how infection risk is managed, and the duty to prevent or control exposure to biological agents at work.
  • Reviewed and Kept Current The content is checked regularly against current Irish legislation and the latest HSA and HPSC guidance on infection control, so your infection control certificate always reflects the standards an inspector expects to see.
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Earn Your Infection Control Certificate: 4 Simple Steps

Your infection prevention and control certificate is four simple steps away, wherever you are in Ireland: Dublin, Cork, Galway or anywhere across every county in Ireland. The whole infection prevention and control training course runs online around your own schedule.

  1. 1

    Sign Up & Start Instantly

    Takes 2 minutes

    Create your account at Ireland Safety Training, pick the Infection Prevention and Control Training Course and pay securely. The infection control training opens the second your payment goes through.

  2. 2

    Study at Your Own Pace

    Any device, anytime

    Phone, tablet or laptop, on the ward, at home or between visits. Pause the infection control course whenever the shift interrupts and pick up exactly where you stopped.

  3. 3

    Take the Online Assessment

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    15 multiple choice questions, 12 correct answers to pass. Retakes are free and unlimited, so there is nothing riding on a single attempt.

  4. 4

    Claim Your Certificate

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    Pass, and your infection control certificate is generated on the spot. Download it, print it or drop it into your training records, ready for any HSA inspection or HIQA audit.

How the Infection Prevention and Control Training Course works at Ireland Safety Training: complete your Infection Prevention and Control training online in 4 easy steps
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Your Infection Control Certificate, Issued Today

Finish the infection prevention and control training at Ireland Safety Training and an officially recognised infection prevention and control certificate lands in your account instantly, accepted by employers in Ireland and right across Ireland, the UK and Europe.

  • Independently Accredited A CPD Certified and RoSPA Approved infection control certification, aligned with the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act 2005, the Biological Agents Regulations 2013 and 2020 and HSA and HPSC guidance on infection control, trusted by employers, inspectors and insurers alike.
  • Evidence for Every Employer The written proof of infection control awareness Irish law expects wherever staff face infection risk, and the record every healthcare agency, care provider, cleaning contractor and food business wants on file before anyone starts a shift.
  • Valid for 3 Years Your infection control certificate remains valid for 3 years and is available to download the instant you pass, ready for the inspection folder, an agency file or a job application.

749,500+ learners across Ireland and the UK have certified with Ireland Safety Training, including care assistants, nurses, cleaners, kitchen staff, laboratory workers and animal care teams through this infection control training.

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One afternoon is enough to certify your entire workforce with Ireland Safety Training. Every seat includes instant access, unlimited retakes and no deadlines, while the free Employer Dashboard assigns the infection control course, follows progress live and stores each certificate in one place, precisely the record an HSA inspector or HIQA auditor asks for. Businesses in Ireland certify entire teams in a single afternoon, with every certificate collected in one place.

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The infection prevention and control training is fully accredited and compliant with Irish legislation. Businesses in Ireland, from construction and pharma to healthcare, hospitality, logistics and agriculture, rely on it every single week.

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The infection control course runs beautifully on PC, laptop, tablet and smartphone, from the staff room, the kitchen table or the van between visits. A clean, comfortable platform built for smooth learning wherever in Ireland the day takes you. Learners in Ireland study from home, from work or on the move, with no classroom visit needed anywhere across every county in Ireland.

Any Device The infection control training adjusts perfectly to mobile, tablet and desktop.
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Hand Hygiene and the 5 Moments FAQ, Everything Answered

Straight answers about the infection prevention and control training course for Ireland learners: local acceptance, online delivery, certification and pricing at Ireland Safety Training.

Before touching a patient, before a clean or aseptic procedure, after body fluid exposure risk, after touching a patient and after touching the patient's surroundings.

Forty to sixty seconds with soap and water, and twenty to thirty seconds with alcohol based hand rub, covering every surface of the hands.

When hands are visibly dirty or contaminated with body fluids, after using the toilet, before handling food, and when caring for someone with norovirus or C. difficile, which alcohol does not kill.

Simple Process

The Fast Route to Your Infection Control Certificate

Earning your infection prevention and control certificate in Ireland could not be simpler. Register, work through the infection prevention and control training course online at your own pace, pass the assessment and download your accredited certificate instantly, wherever you are across every county in Ireland.

1 Takes 2 Minutes

Create Your Account

Set up a free account in moments, add the accredited Infection Prevention and Control Training Course to your cart and pay securely. Access opens immediately.

2 Study 24/7

Work Through the Modules

Real infection scenarios, clear photographs and interactive lessons, open day and night on phone, tablet or computer, with no deadlines attached.

3 Unlimited Retries

Pass the Assessment

Answer 15 questions and get 12 right. Retakes cost nothing, and help is never far away.

4 Instant Download

Download Your Certificate

The accredited infection control certificate is issued the moment you pass, recognised by employers across Ireland, the UK and Europe, and valid for 3 years.

Why Choose Us

Why Take Your Infection Control Course with Ireland Safety Training?

Discover why workers and businesses in Ireland, from Dublin, Cork, Galway and beyond, choose Ireland Safety Training for infection prevention and control training.

The infection prevention and control training course at Ireland Safety Training fits Ireland working life perfectly. From Dublin's construction cranes and Cork's pharma plants to Galway's medtech campuses, Limerick's manufacturing belt and the farms, hotels, warehouses and hospitals in every county between, Irish workplaces run on certified, compliant staff. Instead of losing a day to a classroom, learners in Ireland complete the full accredited training online, in about 1-2 hours, from home or straight from the workplace.

Local employers know exactly what they are looking at when your certificate arrives: CPD Certified, RoSPA approved, HSA aligned training from a provider used by businesses across every county in Ireland. The unique verification code on every certificate makes checks instant, whether you work in Dublin, Cork or Galway.

For businesses, the free Employer Dashboard turns a team rollout into one afternoon of work: bulk registration, live progress and every infection prevention and control certificate in one clean screen, with automatic volume discounts applied at checkout.

Infections do not announce themselves, so the course trains your habits instead. Lessons stream on any device, every pause is saved, and nothing has to be installed. Real workplace scenarios and clear photographs turn the chain of infection, the risk assessment and the hand washing routine into habits you can carry onto tomorrow's shift.

The syllabus follows what the HSA and HPSC expect wherever people face infection risk: identify the hazards of the specific task, assess and control the risks in writing, keep cleaning and waste routines tight, and know exactly which defence, hygiene, PPE or isolation, stands between an infection and the people around you.

One certificate for a new role or a whole team to certify before an audit, either way the journey from registration to certificate runs without friction.

Classroom infection control courses swallow shifts, travel time and agency cover, and pulling a scattered team of carers, cleaners and kitchen staff into one room on one day borders on impossible. Moving the training online removes the whole problem. Staff certify from home, the staff room or between visits, starting the minute they are enrolled.

Completions appear in the manager's view in real time, and the full training record is ready for an inspector in seconds. Layer the automatic volume discounts on top and this becomes the most economical accredited infection control training in Ireland.

The price is the price: course, unlimited retakes and instant infection control certificate, all in one figure with nothing bolted on at checkout.

Fixed course dates and care rosters were never going to fit together. This self paced infection control course moves exactly as fast as you do, pausing on any device and resuming precisely where you stopped, before an early start, after a night duty or between clients.

A clear progress bar shows how much training remains and how close the certificate is. Plenty of learners finish in a single sitting; plenty of others spread it across a week of breaks. Both approaches end in the same certificate.

Assigned across a team, the course wraps around rosters and shift patterns without pulling anyone off the floor, which is exactly why Irish employers return to Ireland Safety Training year after year.

Nothing sits in a review queue. The moment the assessment is passed, the digital infection control certificate is generated, aligned with Irish legislation and recognised across Ireland, the UK and Europe.

It stays in your account permanently, ready to download again for HSA inspections, HIQA audits, agency registrations, job applications and insurance renewals, and its unique verification code lets anyone confirm it on the spot.

For people building a career in healthcare, care, cleaning, food or animal work, an infection control certificate is the named proof of hygiene awareness employers increasingly request before the first shift.

Every module was written by licensed, Chartered (CMIOSH) health and safety consultants who have assessed genuine infection risks across Irish workplaces.

The difference is visible in the detail: risk assessments worked through on real situations rather than theory, hand hygiene explained step by step the way audits actually score it, and honest coverage of the quieter dangers, the shared kettle in the staff room, the spill mopped without gloves, the waste bag lifted against the body.

Everything is reviewed against current Irish legislation and HSA and HPSC guidance on infection control, so the course never drifts behind the rules.

Care work happens at dawn, at midnight and every hour in between, so the platform never closes. Begin the infection control training after a late shift, continue before the next one and finish on a day off, in whatever rhythm suits your week.

Progress syncs across devices automatically, making the switch from phone to laptop mid module completely seamless. Early starters, night staff and weekend workers all receive the same premium experience.

Modules stay open after completion too: reopen the hand hygiene module before an audit, or the outbreak module when something starts circulating, and treat the course as a reference that keeps on working.

More than 749,500 learners across Ireland, the UK and Europe have certified with Ireland Safety Training, achieving a 98% pass rate and leaving a 4.9 star average in verified Google reviews we cannot edit or hide.

From Dublin to Cork, Galway to Limerick and Waterford to Belfast, this infection control training keeps Irish organisations compliant and keeps the people who face infection risk alert and safe.

Employers keep coming back for the same reasons: tidy records, instant certificates and a support team that genuinely answers.

Any workplace where people, food, waste or animals share space, which covers most of Ireland. The risk is not confined to hospitals: the creche at snack time, the kitchen during a norovirus season, the kennel on cleaning day, each one is an outbreak waiting for a missed control. Under the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act 2005, the written risk assessment decides how those hazards are managed, and the Biological Agents Regulations 2013 and 2020 make controlling exposure to bacteria and viruses a named legal duty.

In practice our learners are healthcare professionals and care assistants, hospital and care home support staff, cleaners and housekeeping teams, kitchen and food staff, laboratory workers, veterinary and farm workers, refuse operatives, tattooists and beauticians, and the managers who plan their work.

If your people touch patients, food, waste, animals or the surfaces between them, this training was written for them, and our support team here in Ireland will gladly help you bring it to every site.

Essential Knowledge

Hand Hygiene and the 5 Moments

The five moments for hand hygiene, soap and water versus alcohol gel, the correct technique step by step, how long it takes and the mistakes that leave hands contaminated.

The five moments

One: before touching a patient or resident, to protect them from the germs on your hands. Two: before a clean or aseptic procedure, such as a dressing, a catheter or handling food, to protect them from germs entering the body. Three: after body fluid exposure risk, and after removing gloves, to protect yourself and the environment. Four: after touching a patient, to protect the next person. Five: after touching the patient's surroundings, bed, chair, table, equipment, even if you did not touch the person.

Soap and water or alcohol rub

Alcohol based hand rub is the preferred method when hands are not visibly soiled: faster, kinder to skin and more effective against most organisms. Soap and water is required when hands are visibly dirty or contaminated with body fluids, after using the toilet, before handling food, and when caring for someone with norovirus or Clostridioides difficile, because alcohol does not kill those organisms.

The technique

Wet hands and apply enough soap to cover them, or enough rub to cover every surface. Rub palm to palm; right palm over the back of the left hand with fingers interlaced and vice versa; palm to palm with fingers interlaced; backs of the fingers to the opposing palm with fingers interlocked; rotational rubbing of each thumb clasped in the opposite palm; rotational rubbing of the fingertips in each palm. Rinse and dry thoroughly with a single use towel, using the towel to turn off the tap. Twenty to thirty seconds for hand rub, forty to sixty for soap and water.

What defeats it

Rings, wristwatches, long or false nails and nail polish harbour organisms and stop the technique reaching the skin. Wet hands transfer far more bacteria than dry ones. Gloves are not a substitute: hands are cleaned before putting them on and after taking them off. Cuts and dermatitis are covered and treated, and moisturiser is used so skin stays intact.

Five moments

Before touching, before a clean procedure, after body fluid risk, after touching, after surroundings.

Rub or wash

Alcohol rub when hands look clean; soap and water when soiled, after the toilet and for norovirus and C. difficile.

Bare below the elbow

No rings, watches, long nails or polish; dry hands completely.

Hand hygiene technique and the five moments are demonstrated step by step in the accredited Infection Prevention and Control Course, with a CPD certified certificate on completion.

Infection Prevention and Control: Popular Searches

The most searched ways to find infection prevention and control training online, all leading to the same accredited course with an instant certificate: