Month: August 2016

Helen Lorenz 1, Rachael Court 1, Marija Juraja 1 1 The Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Woodville South, SA, Australia   Introduction With the increasing burden of patients with Multi Resistant Organisms (MRO), staff must consistently practice Standard Precautions (SP) for the protection of patients and themselves. As any patient may have...

Julie Rieck 1, Benjamin Wakeling 1 1 Wollongong Hospital -Illawarra Shoalhaven Local Health District, Wollongong, NSW, Australia   Introduction: Precipitating change within a department can be challenging and its success is reliant upon both internal and external factors. One important internal factor within any healthcare facility is staff....

Katherine Pollaers 1, Helen Cadwallader 1, Kerry Birnie 1 1 Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital, Hospital Ave, Nedlands, WA, Australia   INTRODUCTION The results from Hand Hygiene Australia demonstrate medical staff compliance with hand hygiene (HH) is below that of other disciplines. In a tertiary hospital in Western Australia a junior doctor...

Amanda Palmer 1, Rosemary Nixon 1, Kate Ryan 2 1 Skin And Cancer Foundation Inc., Carlton, VIC, Australia 2 Hand Hygiene Australia, Heidelberg, VIC, Australia   Introduction Healthcare workers (HCWs) are at risk of developing occupational contact dermatitis (OCD), primarily involving the hands. It is estimated that between 30-50% of HCWs have OCD, to...

Christine Sharp 1, Kaye Belliss 1, Gillian Land 1, Pauline Bass 1 1 Alfred Health, Melbourne, VIC, Australia   Hand hygiene (HH) programs must encompass and engage all clinical departments and disciplines. Our intensive care unit (ICU) employs over 600 staff providing care for patients including heart/lung /bone marrow transplants, burns, trauma....

Kaye Belliss 1, Gillian Land 1, Pauline Bass 1 1 Alfred Health, Melbourne, VIC, Australia   Background: Hand Hygiene (HH) is an essential key strategy in the prevention and control of healthcare-associated infections. Good HH practice protects the workforce and consumers. The capacity to engage staff and promote HH compliance...

Jennifer Bradford 1, Andrew Stewardson 1, Lindsay Grayson 1 1 Hand Hygiene Australia, 145 Studley Rd Heidelberg, VIC, Australia   Introduction: This project was initiated to optimise efficiency of hand hygiene (HH) audits, improve access to education resources, and review implementation of the National Hand Hygiene Initiative (NHHI) in...

Philip Russo 1,2, Allen Cheng 3, Mike Richards 4, Nick Graves 1, Lisa Hall 1 1 Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, QLD, Australia 2 Griffith University, Brisbane, QLD, Australia 3 Infectious Diseases Epidemiology Unit, Department of Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine, Monash University, Melbourne, VIC, Australia 4 Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC, Australia   Background Australia does not...

Anna Baldes 1, Sandra Johnson 1, Leon J Worth 1,2, Ann Bull 1, Tim Spelman 1, Judith Brett 1, Michael J Richards 1 1 VICNISS Coordinating Centre, Melbourne, VIC, Australia 2 University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC, Australia   Introduction: Surgical site infections (SSI) are the most common complication of Caesarean sections (CS), contributing significantly to adverse outcomes and increased healthcare costs. Patient,...

David McMillan 1,2, Tayhla Weire 1, Md Abu Choudhury 2,3,4, Claire Rickard 2,3 1 INFLAME Biomedical Research Cluster, University Of The Sunshine Coast, Sippy Downs, QLD, Australia 2 Alliance for Vascular Access Teaching and Research, Griffith University, Brisbane, QLD, Australia 3 NHMRC Centre of Research Excellence in Nursing (NCREN), Menzies Health Institute Queensland, Griffith University, Brisbane, QLD, Australia 4 The University of Queensland, UQ...