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Infection prevention and control guidelines
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Infection prevention and control guidelines
Table of contents
About these guidelines
Transmission of infection in health care
1. Principles
Overview – Principles
Risk assessment and planning
Education and training
Clinical handover
Antimicrobial stewardship to reduce opportunities for antimicrobial resistance
Managing risk in special circumstances
Resources and references
2. Hand hygiene
Overview – Hand hygiene
Role of hand hygiene in infection prevention and control
When hands must be cleansed
Facilities for hand hygiene
Hand-hygiene products
Hand hygiene technique
Hand care
Jewellery, nail polish and artificial nails
Hand hygiene with glove use
Hand hygiene when specific pathogenic microorganisms are present or suspected
Other factors affecting practice hygiene
Hand hygiene for patients
Resources and references
3. Personal protective equipment
Overview – Personal protective equipment
General principles of personal protective equipment use
When to use personal protective equipment
Applying, removing, and disposing of personal protective equipment
Extended use of personal protective equipment
Case study
Resources and references
4. Aseptic technique
Overview – Aseptic technique
Principles and terminology
Standard aseptic technique
Surgical aseptic technique
Skin disinfection (asepsis)
Resources and references
5. Levels of precaution
Overview – Levels of precaution
Standard precautions
Transmission-based precautions
Contact tracing
Case study
Resources
6. Staff screening immunisation and infection management
Overview – Staff screening
Principles for managing staff immune status
Screening
Staff immunisation policy and procedures
Vaccinations for health professionals
Health professionals with a blood borne virus
Staff disease surveillance
Resources and references
7. Sharps
Overview – Sharps
Responsibilities for sharps management
Safe sharps handling practices
Safety-engineered medical devices
Reducing risk of infection after a sharps injury
Resources
8. Exposure to blood and other body substances
Overview – Exposure to blood and other body substances
Blood-borne viral infection risk
Strategies for preventing exposure to blood and body substances
Responsibilities for managing exposure to blood and body substances
Summary of steps for managing an exposure incident involving a staff member or patient
Documentation of the exposure
Resources and references
9. Cleaning, laundry and waste management
Overview – Cleaning, laundry and waste management
Policy and responsibilities
Work health and safety issues
Scheduled cleaning
Cleaning agents and methods
Cleaning reprocessing area
Cleaning after contamination by blood or other body substances (spills)
Cleaning tools
Monitoring of cleaning
Laundry
Waste management
Toilets
Case study
Resources and references
10. Reprocessing reusable medical devices
Overview – Reprocessing reusable medical devices
Choosing whether to reprocess or use disposables
Policies and procedures
Risk assessment
Summary of steps in reprocessing medical devices that require sterilisation
Staff education, training and competency assessment
Initial treatment at point of use
Managing the area for reprocessing for reusable medical devices
Cleaning processes before sterilisation
Rinsing and drying (after manual cleaning)
Sterilisers
Disposable materials used in the sterilisation process
Preparing the load for sterilising
Loading the steriliser
Running the sterilisation cycle
Unloading the steriliser
Documenting reprocessing including steriliser cycles
Documenting performance data for other equipment
Storing sterilised reusable medical devices
Monitoring each sterilisation cycle
Record keeping
Checking steriliser function
Steriliser maintenance
Step-by-step guide: simple first validation
Step-by-step guide: complex validation
Validating reprocessing procedures
Tracking reusable medical devices for patient tracing
Offsite sterilisation services
Reusable medical devices on loan
Reprocessing of reusable medical devices used off-site
Reprocessing of specific categories of medical devices
Resources and references
11. Disease surveillance and outbreak response
Overview – Disease surveillance and outbreak response
Response procedure
Staff education
Monitoring for threats
Notifying relevant authorities
Contact tracing
Practice response to threats
Patient-specific precautions
Receptionists’ infection prevention and control kit
Critical infection prevention and control incidents
Resources
12. Planning a practice: design, fit-out, equipment and consumables
Overview – Planning a practice: design, fit-out, equipment and consumables
Building design and fit-out
Equipment
Choosing consumables and reusable equipment
Resources and references
Figures
Glossary
Links
Relevant standards
Acknowledgements
Disclaimer
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1. Principles
2. Hand hygiene
3. Personal protective equipment
4. Aseptic technique
5. Levels of precaution
6. Staff screening immunisation and infection management
7. Sharps
8. Exposure to blood and other body substances
9. Cleaning, laundry and waste management
10. Reprocessing reusable medical devices
11. Disease surveillance and outbreak response
12. Planning a practice: design, fit-out, equipment and consumables
Last revised: 17 Jun 2024
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