Exploring nursing management of infection control and patient deterioration in a COVID -19 Unit. A protocol for a pragmatic case study

Dr Mary Batch¹, Ms Karina  Chu¹, Ms Rhiannon  Spencer¹

¹RBWH, Herston, Australia

Background

A call for help from a medical emergency response team (MERT) can be a common occurrence in a COVID-19 unit where patients are quarantined for their illness. MERT calls represent risk of virus exposure to nursing and medical staff when adherence to infection control policies may be compromised. The need for urgency, and staff unfamiliar with the environment during a MERT, can affect PPE adherence. Literature searches show a dearth of knowledge in this area. This study, undertaken by a registered nurse team in a COVID-19 unit, will explore the barriers and enablers to effective infection control practices, particularly correct PPE use in a MERT situation.

The setting is a 16 bed infectious diseases unit within a tertiary teaching metropolitan hospital where over the last 14 months until May 2021, 128 MERT calls including one cardiac arrest have taken place.

Methods

The proposed research will apply a pragmatic case study methodology to understand infection control management during patient deterioration in a COVID-19 isolation unit.  To inform the case study a questionnaire will be developed and following ethics approval all nurses in the COVID-19 unit will be invited to take part. A thematic analysis will follow.

Results

The anticipated outcome will be a holistic narrative about infection control, PPE, MERT calls and COVID-19. This may lead to a substantial development in hospital policies surrounding infection control practises in COVID-19 management. Risk of COVID-19 exposure and spread will be reduced.

Conclusion

This project addresses a significant gap in the literature.

Biography:

Clinical Nurse in Infectious diseases unit dealing largely with COVID 19 and quarantine patients