Overview – Staff screening

Overview – Staff screening

Develop policies to ensure that all staff are either immunised or have natural immunity against vaccine-preventable diseases that can be transmitted in the practice environment.

Practice owners are responsible for advising staff of the risks of infection and ensuring that staff are aware they are expected to be covered for the vaccine-preventable diseases to which they may be exposed.

Practices can offer staff the opportunity to be vaccinated at work or use their preferred general practice or immunisation service.

Practices must maintain up-to-date records of staff immunisation status.

Practices must ensure that all staff are aware that:

• they must inform the infection prevention and control coordinator, practice manager or employer if they have a known or suspected infectious disease that could be transmitted in the workplace, and that they are not to come to work until they are considered no longer infectious
• if they have a notifiable disease, they must not come to work until they have completed the required isolation period or met testing requirements, following health department advice.

Practices could implement recommended exclusion periods for those with known or suspected infectious diseases. The infection prevention and control coordinator must stay up to date with health department requirements for notifiable diseases.