1 Silverchain, 1 Richmond Road, Keswick, South Australia, 5035
Home care can be delivered within the person’s designated home, at a clinic, or in residential care. The primary goal of home care is to deliver safe, high-quality care, facilitate discharge from acute care settings, and help support people to continue living at home. Care may include general or specialised medical care involving physicians, nursing, or allied health professionals, as well as social or community-based services that support activities of daily living.
Infection prevention and control (IPC) challenges in home care may include provider knowledge and experience, level of direct supervision and compliance to policy, storage and transportation of supplies and equipment in vehicles and carry bags, waste management, environmental and logistical issues that are outside provider control. These may encompass client preferences and behaviours, travel times and conditions, level of cleanliness and environmental conditions, presence of household members and animals, inconsistency of referral details, documentation practices, communication issues, cultural practices, screening or testing procedures, and the availability of information related to infections and communicable diseases.
IPC measures within the unique home care setting need to meet established standards and organisational policies and procedures. Additionally, they should provide comprehensive training and continuous education, compliance auditing and reporting, logistical support, availability of supplies, resources, and oversight. Strategies should address incidences and near misses, minimise infection risks to clients, providers, and others within the community, address ongoing challenges and strategies to continuously improve IPC practices.
Biography
Irene is qualified as a Registered Nurse. She has a Graduate Diploma specialising in infection control, Masters in Nursing and in 2016 was awarded the title of Fellow by the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (FAPIC).
Irene has been working in the field of infection prevention and control (IPC) since 1999. From 1999 until 2017, Irene worked at King Faisal Specialist Hospital & Research Centre, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, a 1000 bed acute care hospital and was promoted to the position of Assistant Director, IPC for the last 4 years of her tenure. Upon her return to Australia in 2018 Irene worked for SA Health Dental Service as an IPC nurse, and from 2019 as Manager, IPC for Silverchain. Silverchain delivers community and home care services to clients located nationally in metropolitan, country, and remote locations.