Mrs. Corinne Miles1
1Queensland Infection Prevention and Control Unit (QIPCU), Herston, Australia
Biography:
Corinne Miles, who has 15 years’ experience in communicable disease nursing roles, began as a ward nurse with an Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) portfolio in rural Queensland. Following the completion of a Masters in IPC and a Graduate Certificate in Forensic Nursing, Corinne led the IPC program in Central Queensland. During the COVID-19 pandemic accepted a secondment to manage the day-to-day functions of the Central Queensland Health Emergency Operations Centre. Corinne moved her family to Brisbane in 2024 for a position in the newly formed Queensland Infection Prevention and Control Unit (QIPCU), Queensland Department of Health.
Abstract:
A ‘learning organisation’ is a concept where people collaboratively learn to reach their full potential. The newly formed Queensland Infection Prevention and Control Unit (QIPCU) has developed an engagement strategy using the leadership principles to foster a learning organisation and by partnering with Queensland Hospital and Health Services (HHS) to build our ideal statewide infection prevention and control (IPC) program.
The engagement strategy involves multifaceted initiatives including teleconference, newsletter, collaboration chatroom, hospital visits, peer support, education, scholarships, and advocacy. These initiatives have been implemented with capacity to monitor participation levels, enabling QIPCU to continuously reflect and provide meaningful engagement with HHS IPC teams.
Through a collaboration exercise that mapped key stakeholders across Queensland, QIPCU developed an algorithm to ensure the right people, receive the information relevant to them. The evaluation identified that prior to intervention 26% of stakeholders were not receiving important correspondence. It was also discovered that 20% of stakeholders interact with QIPCU using a mobile device, prompting the format in which information is shared and delivered to be adapted according to this preference.
Collective reflection on challenges for statewide IPC programs revealed the common theme of succession planning. This led to a new initiative to award 10 Infection Control Practitioners and five First Nations Health Worker scholarships to complete the ACIPC Foundations in IPC course.
By achieving meaningful engagement with IPC teams across Queensland, QIPCU strives to shape a cohesive, capable, and efficient statewide program aimed at reducing healthcare-associated infections.