Effective infection prevention and control practices reduce the risk of transmission of infections between patients, healthcare workers and others in the healthcare environment.
Preventing falls and harm from falls
Clean and safe environment
Clean and safe environment
Standard and transmission-based precautions
Surveillance
Integrating clinical governance
Integrating clinical governance
Reprocessing of reusable equipment and devices meets current best practice and is consistent with recurrent national standards.
Evidence-based systems are used to mitigate the risk of infection. These systems account for individual risk factors for infection, as well as the risks associated with the clinical intervention and the clinical setting in which care is provided. A precautionary approach is warranted when evidence is emerging or rapidly evolving.
Patients, consumers and members of the workforce with suspected or confirmed infection are identified promptly, and appropriate action is taken. This includes persons with risk factors for transmitting or acquiring infection or colonisation with an organism of local, national or global significance.
The health service organisation is clean and hygienic and has well-maintained and configured engineering systems for the delivery of effective models of care.
Antimicrobial resistance poses a significant threat to public health because antimicrobials underpin so much of routine clinical practice. The Antimicrobial Stewardship Clinical Care Standard supports quality improvement by health services and clinicians to help reduce antimicrobial resistance.
This page includes information on infection prevention and control (IPC) strategies for carbapenemase-producing organisms (CPOs) and links to additional resources.
These posters show the key steps for standard precautions and when caring for patients who require transmission-based precautions, due to a known or suspected infection.
The Australian Guidelines for the Prevention and Control of Infection in Healthcare was jointly developed by the Commission and the NHMRC. The Guidelines, together with Commission guidance for specific organisms, provide healthcare workers and health service organisations with support to develop tailored local protocols and processes for infection prevention and control.
The Commission has developed a suite of eLearning modules on hand hygiene and infection prevention and control.
Outcome: By completing Step 3.4 you will be able to develop ideas for translating AHPEQS results into actions that support quality and safety improvement in your services
Outcome: By completing Step 3.2, you will have an analysis strategy for the raw AHPEQS data you will receive from patients.
PREMs are recommended as a resource to prioritise and inform local safety and quality improvement, to stimulate meaningful discussion with consumers, and to help organisations to keep track of their move towards patient-centred care.