Mrs. Maxine Anstis, Mrs. Shiree Faulkner
Biography:
Maxine Anstis is the Infection Prevention and Control Lead for Bupa Dental Care. A registered nurse with a diverse clinical background, she has worked across hospital, aged care, and primary care settings. She currently leads the national AS 5369 implementation project, with a focus on quality improvement and staff engagement.
Abstract:
In response to the new AS 5369 standard for reprocessing reusable medical devices in health and non-hospital settings, our organisation undertook a large-scale gap analysis and implementation project across a network of 170 private dental practices. The aim was to assess compliance, identify risks, and support a structured, evidence-informed rollout of local implementation plans.
This presentation will outline our approach—from early engagement with key stakeholders, including Practice Managers and Senior Dental Assistants, to the development of a custom digital audit tool and a risk-based prioritisation framework. These tools and processes helped translate the standard into practical, site-specific actions, while fostering shared accountability and building local capacity across diverse practice settings.
We will present key findings from the completed gap analysis, including recurring themes in documentation, infrastructure, and staff training, as well as operational barriers and enablers to change. Our experience highlights the value of embedding a continuous improvement mindset into standard implementation and using real-time data to refine support and resourcing strategies.
This session offers practical, scalable insights for others implementing AS 5369—particularly those working across large or geographically dispersed networks of office-based practices. It demonstrates how structured, risk-informed planning and evidence-based tools can bridge the gap between compliance requirements and practice realities, and how insights gathered at the practice level can inform broader quality and safety improvements across the dental sector.