Ms. Trish Hurst1
1QIPCU, Brisbane, Australia
Biography:
Trish has worked in Infection Prevention and Control for over 18 years. She has led and delivered Infection Prevention and Control programs and initiatives in various settings across the healthcare continuum including in Queensland’s largest tertiary-quaternary hospital, office-based practice, Aeromedical Retrieval Services, Primary Healthcare, and translational research with academic partners.
She has recently joined the Queensland Infection Prevention and Control Unit (QIPCU) as CNC in the Surveillance team, focusing on contemporising surveillance definitions. In her spare time, Trish enjoys swabbing drains in search of interesting multi-drug-resistant bacteria and paddle boarding on the bay in search of dugongs.
Abstract:
Background
In February 2024, the newly established Queensland Infection Prevention and Control Unit (QIPCU) was approached by Torres and Cape Hospital and Health Service (TCHHS) to provide mentorship and support to a newly recruited Infection Control Practitioner (ICP). The TCHHS covers 129,770 square kilometres, servicing a population of 27,000 with 31 primary healthcare centres and 2 hospitals, and over 1000 staff. For a smooth transition to Queensland Health (QH), QIPCU rapidly devised a virtual solution to support long-distance orientation to QH information systems for a remote ICP program.
Actions
Remote IPC support has been enhanced with emerging online collaboration applications (i.e., Teams). Screen sharing capability has innovated the delivery of real-time, virtual face-to-face support while helping to establish collegial relationships. Over 8 weeks and 2000km, QIPCU provided operational support and virtual orientation in the use of statewide surveillance and pathology systems, that enable surveillance of Healthcare Associated Infection (HAI).
Results
Remote support enabled the continuation of service delivery for the TCHHS IPC program while recruitment and orientation were completed. The successful transition to independent practice also provided an opportunity to jointly resolve the surveillance back-log. Centralised assistance also eliminated the need to access ad-hoc help from busy ICPs in other HHSs.
Conclusion
A journey of a thousand miles starts with a single step. Virtual support and mentoring are among the first steps being taken by QIPCU to provide leadership, mentorship and centralised, coordinated network of support to remote ICPs.