Mr Matthew Didcoe1
1St John WA, Belmont, Australia
St John WA (SJWA) wanted to find a way to enhance the knowledge and skill of its clinicians relating to infection prevention and control not just through the COVID-19 pandemic but their ongoing practice with officers on the frontline championing behaviour and practice change. It was out of this that the Infection Prevention and Control Champion program was born.
For 16 weeks at a time, officers are seconded to work closely with the SJWA Infection and Control Specialist, working on a quality improvement project, some of which have included environmental hygiene guideline changes and work towards a vehicle make ready program, improvements to pre-hospital aseptic technique and hand hygiene initiatives all with a specific pre-hospital lens. In addition, the officers are enrolled in the Australasian College of Infection Prevention and Control (ACIPC) Foundations of Infection Prevention and Control (FIPC) course to ensure a mix of practical and theoretical knowledge with which they can return to front line duties as accessible points of reference for IP&C questions.
The program has generated significant interest and has seen increased engagement from frontline staff wanting to improve their practice while furthering IP&C quality improvement projects available within the service with the additional resources, with plans for a new round of recruitment for 2023 to start shortly given the initial success of the program.
Biography: Matt is a registered paramedic working in for the state ambulance provider in Western Australia. Matt’s interest in clinical governance and system improvement lead him to be the inaugural Infection Prevention and Control Champion for St John WA. Matt is currently using his new found infection prevention and control knowledge as part of his position in the country ambulance service facilitating statewide retrieval services.