Dr Susan Jain, Mrs Kathy Dempsey
1Clinical Excellence Commission, 1 Reserve Road St Leonards, Australia
Background: Since its emergence, millions of people have acquired and died from SARS-CoV-2 infections. A key controversy has been how to protect health workers (HWs) when there is ambiguous evidence on the adequacy of personal protective equipment and fit testing. Operationalizing these requirements was very challenging as fit testing had not been routine practice in New South Wales (NSW) Health. Furthermore, it is impractical to fit test 140,000 HWs in the middle of a pandemic.
Method: A multidisciplinary Respiratory Protection Program (RPP) board was convened with representatives from work health and safety, workplace relations and clinical teams along with legal and union delegates with the aim of providing strategic advice and guidance on implementation, monitoring, and outcomes of RPP.
Results: Local implementation was led by Infection Prevention and Control and by experienced nurses and work health and safety experts. The program included the more complex aspects of managing HWs who are unable to pass a fit test due to religious, cultural, or medical conditions. During 2021 NSW Health performed 234,499 fit tests on 84,685 HWs with overall, 98% of HWs (n=83210) achieving a fit test pass, demonstrating the success of the program.
Conclusion: Fit testing is now well established and continues as new staff enter the workforce, new respirators become available as well as repeat testing for those many frontline HWs who were fit tested early in the pandemic. The RPP board is progressing with an evaluation of the program to determine its impact, effectiveness, and sustainability in coming years.
Biography: Susan Jain is the principal advisor and COVID-19 response lead of the Healthcare Associated Infection (HAI) program at the Clinical Excellence Commission, New South Wales. She has a Doctorate in transmission-based precautions and a Master of International Public Health (MIPH) from the University of New South Wales, Australia and a Master of Nursing from University of Wollongong. She has nine category A* publications and conjoint academic at UNSW and guest lecturer at University of Sydney and University of Technology Sydney. Susan also holds the award of Credentialled Infection Control Professional-Expert (CICP-E) from the Australian College for Infection Prevention and Control.