Infection Prevention and Control

Depending on a specific patient’s condition(s), there may be particular IPAC measures that staff need to take, or should take for their own protection and wellbeing. This could include wearing protective clothing like gowns, caps and masks, to reduce the risk of infecting others with diseases or illnesses.

Please see below for updates on the latest IPAC measures throughout the hospital.

Masking and respiratory illness season

Effective Friday, March 3, 2025, medical masking in patient care areas where active patient care is being provided is no longer required.

However, because influenza, COVID-19 and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) continue to circulate, we continue to keep our clinical spaces safe through routine precautions or based on point-of-care risk assessments.

We encourage all visitors to:

• Pay attention to how you’re feeling and stay home if you are feeling sick
• Respect others' personal space and their personal decision to wear a mask
• Practice regular hand hygiene

Hand cleaning

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One of the best things you can do to prevent infections is clean your hands regularly and avoid touching your face. You can use alcohol-based hand rubs to disinfect your hands when soap and water are not available. 

Across BC Children’s Hospital, there are hand-sanitizing stations in public areas for your use, including entrances, hallways and in clinic spaces.

There are four different touch points or moments in hospital when it is important for patients and visitors to clean or sanitize their hands:

• Before entering any new area of the hospital
• Before eating or providing any hands-on care
• After contact with other people or body fluids
• After leaving any area of the hospital

Contact and droplet precautions

There are certain times during visits to the hospital when patients and their health-care providers may need to take additional IPAC precautions. This includes if your child/youth has been placed under droplet and/or contact precautions (isolation).

A health-care professional will tell you if you need to take additional precautions in the hospital, and/or at home after visiting or staying at BC Children’s Hospital.

Further resources on additional precautions:

• Droplet and Contact Precautions: Patient and family information sheet (PDF)
• Contact Precautions: Patient and family information sheet (PDF)
• Contact Plus Precautions: Patient and family information sheet (PDF)
• Airborne Precautions: Patient and family information sheet (PDF)

If you have questions about IPAC precautions, please speak to your child or youth’s health-care provider.

The IPAC team works collaboratively with other groups within Provincial Health Services Authority (PHSA), other health authorities, the Provincial Infection Control Network of BC (PICNet) and regional and national health services in supporting best practices to prevent and control infections.