Implementing the Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Healthcare Peripheral Intravenous Clinical Care Standard at Healthscope Hospitals
Nicola Isles11Healthscope, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Background
The Australian Commission on Safety in Quality in Healthcare (ACSQHC) released the Peripheral Intravenous Catheter (PIVC) Clinical Care Standard in 2021. Healthscope conducted a gap analysis against the PIVC Standard, demonstrating the need for all tools to be revised to ensure compliance.
Method
To ensure all Healthscope hospitals complied with the Standard, we revised and developed a new suite of tools to ensure reliable consistent care with PIVCs and to reduce our healthcare associated bloodstream infection (HCA BSI) rates and complications. This included current policies, audits, documentation forms and consumer information for PIVC insertion and management. A new ‘toolkit’ of resources was developed, including a specific developed best practice bundle for PIVC management ensuring compliance with the Standard at all 39 Healthscope sites across Australia in 2022. HCA BSI reporting was closely monitored.
Results
The cost of one Staphylococcus aureus bloodstream infection (SABSI) is estimated to be upwards of $20,000 and our SABSI rate has reduced by more than 50% since the implementation of the PIVC toolkit in 2022. SABSI rates remained low in 2023, with some hospitals reporting no SABSI in 2023.
Conclusion
The introduction of this PIVC package has been well received at all Healthscope hospitals by clinical staff. Documentation has significantly improved; clinical staff, doctors and patients are now more engaged and educated about PIVC management and potential complications. This clinical practice innovation ensures simple easy to follow reliable consistent care, promotes team work, adherence to best clinical practice and improves patient clinical outcomes and experience
Biography
Nicola has over 35 years of experience as a Registered Nurse with a background in Critical Care and specialising in Infection Prevention and Control in both public and private healthcare facilities. Her current role is as Healthscopes National Infection Prevention, Control and Radiation Safety Manager for 39 Hospitals and is an accredited assessor for the NHQHS National Standards. She was a founding member of ACIPC and a current Board Director, Chair of the Practice Guidance Committee, a member on the Research and Grants Committee and additionally a current Board member for the Australian Vascular Access Society (AVAS)