April 18, 2021
The use of infection control procedures and policies along with frequent hand hygiene measures, ANTT/sterile techniques and keeping the healthcare environment and equipment clean has been effective in reducing the prevalence of health care associated infections.
Western Health guidelines highlight the importance and use of standard precautions as a proven and effective method to prevent the spread of multi resistant organisms or transmissible pathogens.
The use of “Standard Precautions” is essential as the primary strategies for the successful minimisation of health care associated infections. Standard precautions and are to be used for the treatment and care of all patients regardless of their perceived or confirmed infectious status.
Standard Precautions include:
Important aspects of standard precautions are:
– All those in direct patient care are to be bare below the elbow except for a single simple wedding band.
– Educate and encourage consumers to use hand hygiene practices + cough etiquette.
– Encourage visitors not to attend the hospital if they are unwell.
Western Health guidelines acknowledge that standard precautions are not always enough to contain highly transmissible pathogens and as such has developed guidelines to limit the risk of transmission.
These are used in the health care setting to prevent the spread of MROs and/or highly transmissible pathogens that may not be contained with standard precautions alone.
Transmission Based Precautions include:
OR combination of these precautions for organisms transmitted by multiple routes of transmission.
The WH PPG on Standard and Transmission Based precautions can be vied through this link.
The use of PPE:
PPE provides an important barrier and effective approach to minimising the contact risk with transmissible pathogens. It is important to know where to access the appropriate PPE in your department and which are the appropriate items of PPE to use.
To learn more Click Here to access this easy to use PPE Quick reference Guide.
PPE is not just about knowing which is right equipment to use, but also knowing how to wear it correctly. Knowing how to fit and wear the appropriate personal protective equipment is vital to your own health and to reduce the risk of transmission. If donning and doffing are done incorrectly you are putting yourself, your colleagues and your patients at risk. The following document provides an easy to understand guide to correctly fit, don and doff PPE. READ MORE
WH has developed some great visual guidelines to be used in clinical environments as an alert, but also to remind staff how to prepare for and provide care in situations where the following precautions have been identified.
Many patients with a recognised or suspected transmissible illness will be cared for in a negative pressure isolation room in order to prevent cross-contamination of air between rooms, therefore reducing the risk of transmission to others. To understand more about how negative pressure isolation rooms work and how to ensure they operating correctly click on the following link: Isolation Room – Under Negative Pressure
The Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care has produced a document outlining nationally accepted guidelines on infection control and prevention principles and priority areas of action. The document can be found by clicking on the following link:
Australian Guidelines for the Prevention and Control of Infection in Healthcare
