Dr Lyn-li Lim1,2, Ms Sam Dickson1, Ms Leanne Houston1, Ms Jay Kaur1, Dr Stephanie Tanamas1, Prof Leon Worth1,3, Dr Ann Bull1, Ms Arpita Patel1, Ms Ling Wang1, Prof N.Deborah Friedman1,2
1VICNISS at the Peter Doherty Institute for Infeection and Immunity, Melbourne, Australia, 2Department of Infectious Diseases, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Australia, 3Department of Medicine, Melbourne, Australia
Biography:
Leanne Houston is a registered nurse, employed as a senior IPC Consultant at the Victorian state surveillance centre for healthcare-associated infections. She has over 26 years’ experience in working in Infection Prevention and Control including as an IPC manager across a number of Health Services in Victoria.
Abstract:
Introduction
Peripheral intravenous catheters (PIVCs) are among the most frequently inserted devices in hospitals, yet many are unnecessary and carry the risk of complications, including bloodstream infections. Monitoring compliance with clinical practice standards drives quality improvement and enhances patient safety. In January 2026, the Victorian Healthcare Associated Infection Surveillance System (VICNISS) released a PIVC monitoring module. We describe the implementation process and early uptake.
Methods
The module replaced a previous module. A sample of VICNISS IPC users of the previous module provided design feedback. The new module provided an audit tool for Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) teams to collect bedside and documentation data on PIVC management and complications. Enhancements included the addition of consumer questions, alignment of data collection and reporting to align with the Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care PIVC Clinical Care Standard quality indicators and providing dashboard reports on documentation compliance and PIVC local complications. From July 2025, the module was promoted to hospital IPC teams, and an educational webinar conducted prior to launch in January 2026.
Results
42 IPC staff attended the webinar, a further 120 have viewed the recording. In the first six months, 34 facilities have included this module into surveillance plans. Further results will be presented from a post-launch survey of IPC staff to identify barriers and enablers to participation.
Conclusions
A standardised PIVC surveillance tool enables benchmarking and supports local quality improvement in PIVC care. Implementation lessons and user feedback from the VICNISS PIVC module will be shared.