Ms Sue Gonelli1, Mrs. Nicole Elms1, Mrs. Karen Bradshaw1
1Peninsula Health, Frankston, Australia
Biography:
Sue Gonelli has been involved in infection prevention for over 15 years and is currently the Manager of Infection Prevention at Peninsula Health.
Abstract:
The incorrect placement or use of additional precautions for patients with multi-resistant organisms (MROs) can result in the inefficient utilisation of valuable resources, including single rooms and personal protective equipment (PPE), as well as the potential well-being risks for patients. Outside of regular business hours, healthcare workers (HCWs) are tasked with managing the infectious risks associated with these patients.
The development and deployment of the Risk of Infectious Organism Transmission (RIOT) tool, a scoring system-based risk assessment, aims to determine the isolation needs and PPE requirements for patients with MROs in healthcare settings.
The RIOT tool assigns higher scores to patients with MROs based on various factors, such as organism sensitivities (e.g., carbapenemase-producing organisms, vancomycin-resistant enterococci Van A), cognitive ability to adhere to hand hygiene and isolation protocols, presence of wounds or invasive devices, and prior hospitalisations, particularly overseas.
Additionally, the tool considers the risk to other patient cohorts based on the admitting ward (e.g., medical, surgical, oncology, and rehabilitation).
Nurses, proficient in using assessment tools for falls and pressure area risks, can utilise the RIOT tool to make autonomous infection prevention decisions, thereby facilitating prompt patient isolation and optimising resource allocation, including the use of single rooms and PPE.
The integration of the RIOT tool into our electronic medical record system has proven to be effective and user-friendly for HCWs.