Mrs Sarah Thomas1
1GOLDCOAST HEALTH, Southport, Australia
Situation: – I was working alone in my hospital early this year which is part of the bigger teaching hospital where the wider infection control team is based. Back then the facility I was working was considered as “clean site” where no potential Covid patients were expected. However, a patient from China presented to ED and needed Chest Xray.
Task: -The patient was placed in the negative pressure room in ED. Since it was the first time. I wanted to assist the Xray technicians to don and doff personal protective equipment(PPE).
Action: – The design of the room was not ideal small to fit in three people process went well. They entered through the ante room while the machine was brought through the sliding door which I was reminded by my senior colleague even before I started the exercise.
Recommendations:- The recommendations are the level of thoroughness which is involved in any ICP decision. It is a comprehensive picture of the layout of the place and applying the principle based on the layout. The Fever clinics design s are based on this principle and I understood the need for developing that sense of design and different way of thinking which cannot be found in books Infact my ADON got nominated for excellence award and the team too was acknowleged for the great work they do. My point is to highlight the level of knowledge and understanding is needed behind every advice we give.
Biography:
Sarah Thomas works with Gold Coast Health infection Control team and has nine years experience as an ICP. Sarah did her Masters in Infection Prevention & Control from Griffith University and is Credentialled (Expert) from ACIPC. Her areas of interests includes device related infections, mentoring and antimicrobial stewardship.