Officially launched at the Healthcare Infection Society’s Annual Conference (HISCON), the report follows a high-level workshop in March 2025. The report brings together insights from infection prevention and control (IPC) experts, architects, engineers and healthcare construction professionals. It explores the systemic failures that allow infection risks to persist in healthcare settings and outlines practical, collaborative solutions to embed IPC at the heart of hospital infrastructure.

Key recommendations include:

• Involving IPC professionals from the earliest stages of design and planning
• Introducing mandatory IPC training across disciplines
• Standardising best-practice design frameworks for infection prevention
• Leveraging innovation, including AI and IoT, to improve monitoring and reduce human error
• Balancing clinical needs with sustainability goals without compromising safety

As a direct outcome of this work, HIS has announced the formation of the Built Environment Infection Prevention Initiative (BEIPI) - a cross-sector taskforce dedicated to embedding infection prevention principles into the design, construction and operation of healthcare settings.

“The creation of BEIPI is a vital next step,” said HIS chair Dr Manjula Meda. “We need to move from conversation to coordinated action - making infection prevention a fundamental requirement of every healthcare build and renovation project.”