Ms Trish Hurst1
1Clinical Nurse Consultant, Queensland Infection Prevention and Control Unit (QIPCU)
Biography:
Trish has more than 20 years’ experience in infection prevention and control, having led and delivered programmes and initiatives across a broad range of healthcare settings. Her experience spans Queensland’s largest tertiary–quaternary hospital, office-based practice, aeromedical retrieval services, primary healthcare, and translational research in partnership with academic collaborators.
In 2024, Trish joined the Queensland Infection Prevention and Control Unit (QIPCU) as a Clinical Nurse Consultant in the Surveillance team, where she focuses on modernising surveillance definitions. Outside work, she enjoys swabbing hospital drains in search of interesting multidrug-resistant bacteria and paddle boarding on Raby Bay in search of dugongs.
Abstract:
This presentation explores the role of environmental surveillance of healthcare surfaces in infection prevention and control, drawing on a scoping review of 100 studies and 10 guidance documents. It examines when and how surveillance is used, which pathogens are targeted, and why detection rates vary across settings. The findings show that environmental surveillance is most useful as a targeted, risk-based intervention, particularly in outbreak and high-risk contexts, rather than as routine monitoring. The session will highlight implications for policy, practice, standardisation, and integration with broader surveillance and environmental hygiene systems.