Ms Louise Laurie1, Ms Margaret Leong2
1ACIPC, Jan Juc, Australia
2ACIPC, Suva, Fiji
Kiribati reached the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic on February 8th 2022. At this time the Government of Kiribati requested the technical assistance of Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) Specialists from the Global Outbreak Alert and Response Network (GOARN), partner of the Australasian College of Infection Prevention and Control (ACIPC) and the Pacific Community (SPC).
Our deployment to Kiribati facilitated the opportunity to work with the National IPC Focal Point to provide support and IPC education to all cadres of Health Care Workers (HCWs). The project aimed to strengthen Kiribati IPC response to the COVID-19 pandemic and support the Ministry of Health (MOH) in containing the COVID-19 outbreak, preventing the Kiribati Health Care systems from becoming overwhelmed.
Our key IPC measures focused on education and improving distribution of appropriate PPE and hand hygiene supplies to HCWs in both hospital and community-based settings. The central supply of PPE and alcohol based hand rub (ABHR) was initially stored and managed by pharmacy. Our observation saw that the supply of PPE and ABHR was not readily accessible to those who required it, resulting in inadequate daily supply of PPE for HCWs, creating an unnecessary vulnerability.
In collaboration with the MOH, and other technical experts, we successfully established an inventory method of PPE distribution to all wards to ensure a reliable, adequate supply of COVID-19 appropriate PPE and ABHR.
The collaboration of parties from national and international expertise demonstrates the capacity to reach a wider audience and serves to strengthen IPC knowledge and education.
Biography: Louise Laurie previously worked as a Neonatal Intensive Care Nurse Specialist and Nurse Immunizer for the past 30 years. She is currently employed as an IPC Specialist with International Health and Medical Servicers. More recently she worked with the Victorian Department of Health and COVID-19 Quarantine Victoria. Her most recent work in the Pacific as member of GOARN partner Australasian College of Infection Prevention and Control (ACIPC), visited healthcare facilities across Kiribati working in partnership with the Pacific Community IPC Advisor providing IPC training and support to local experts.