Posted on 16-October-2026

IP2026: what does good infection prevention look like in practice?

What does good infection prevention look like when it moves beyond guidance, policy and audit scores and into the reality of everyday healthcare?

That was one of the questions running through Infection Prevention 2026, the Infection Prevention Society’s annual conference, which brought infection prevention and control professionals together at the Royal Armouries in Leeds on 28 and 29 September.

Six themes ran across the conference, covering IPC in practice, priority pathogens and antimicrobial stewardship, decontamination and reprocessing, safe environments, behavioural and implementation science, and technical innovations including digital and AI. The programme also featured keynote lectures, oral presentations, poster talks, industry symposia and dedicated exhibition time.

Daniels Healthcare was pleased to exhibit at the event, meeting healthcare professionals, sharing ideas and listening to the conversations taking place across two days of presentations, discussion and networking.

Les Boyce, Key Account Manager (North), Healthcare, said: “As it is every year, the IPS Conference is always enjoyable; catching up with customers from various trusts who I’ve known for years, meeting with new customers, and showing our products to everyone who visited our stand makes the day productive and informative.”

Learning from the people doing the work

There was something particularly valuable about being at IP2026 in person – conferences like this provide access to research and expert opinion, but they also create space for us to have open conversations that don’t always happen through a Trust presentation or a hospital audit.

A sharps container may not be the most visible part of a clinical environment, but it has an essential role at the point where a used sharp leaves clinical use and enters the healthcare waste pathway. Our role is not simply to manufacture sharps containers, it is to understand the environments in which they are used and the people who rely on them, and to develop solutions that support safe and effective healthcare waste management in practice.

For us, exhibiting at IP2026 provided an opportunity to have those conversations with the people working at the heart of infection prevention. There were shared experiences over a coffee, plenty of discussion at the exhibition stand, and conversation and questions about something that works well in one hospital but creates a challenge in another.

One of the strongest themes to emerge from IP2026 was the growing relationship between infection prevention and sustainability. Recycled materials, resource efficiency, and responsible waste management all have a role to play, but they must sit alongside the fundamental requirements of safety, compliance, and effective infection prevention.

Sustainability is part of our wider approach to healthcare waste driven by responsible manufacturing and using recycled materials to deliver safe, compliant, and environmentally conscious waste management solutions for the healthcare sector such as our SHARPSGUARD® and WIVA™ products.

Les adds: “The introduction of healthcare waste in our containers and the continuation of innovative product updates will help trusts to meet their sustainability targets.”

We would like to thank everyone who visited our stand, shared their views, and took the time to talk to our team and look at our products.

A new chapter for the Infection Prevention Society

IP2026 was also an important moment for the IPS itself, with changes in its leadership formally taking place during the conference.

We would like to congratulate Joanne Taylor, who has been elected as the next Vice President of the Infection Prevention Society and formally took up the role at the conference in Leeds on 28 September.

Joanne is DIPC and IPC Consultant Nurse at Royal Cornwall Hospital NHS Trust and Cornwall Partnership NHS Foundation Trust and brings more than 21 years’ experience in infection prevention and control across acute and community healthcare, care homes, prisons, the private sector and social care.

The conference also marked the official handover of the IPS Presidency from Jude Robinson to Kerry Holden. We wish Joanne and Kerry every success in their new roles and look forward to the year ahead as well as IP2027!