Understanding the challenges of hand hygiene in an ambulance service, to develop a meaningful hand hygiene program
Verity Hill1, , 1SA Ambulance Service, EASTWOOD, SA, Australia
Background
Literature suggests that hand hygiene (HH) compliance with the national infection prevention and control (IP&C) standards in the emergency medical service (EMS) setting is below the national average. Low compliance is further compounded by the lack of national HH education that specifically targets, and caters for, the specialist nature and environment of paramedic clinical practice.
The aim of this project was to create a local HH program that includes both education and assessment that targets and engages our paramedic workforce to improve compliance.
Method or Actions
A HH eLearning package of relevance to the EMS workforce was developed to improve engagement and provide consistent IP&C messaging across the state. New hand hygiene procedure and eLearning package were launched on World Hand Hygiene Day in May 2023. This formed part of a state-wide IP&C program that saw HH training become mandatory for the first time for all operational staff.
Results
It is now possible for SA Ambulance Service to accurately determine who has completed HH eLearning and, in the month since its inception, 500 staff have finished the online course. As a result, improvements in audit findings are expected in the next 12 months, which will demonstrate that target, engaging learning packages, improves staff knowledge and training compliance.
Conclusion
National HH education programs should encompass specialist groups, such as the paramedic workforce, to improve compliance with key IP&C standards. Interventions that are targeted to specific professional groups are more likely to lead to demonstrable improvements in patient safety and care.
Biography
Verity has been working in Workforce Health and Infection Prevention and Control for over 15 years. She has worked as an infection control nurse in the UK. In 2007 she returned to Adelaide and the Women’s & Children’s Hospital working in a variety of roles infection control, vaccine research and worker health. Verity joined Drug and Alcohol Services SA in 2019, running and infection control program. In 2021 she was seconded to SA Ambulance Service in Infection Prevention and Control to provide a state-wide infection control service in a pre-hospital emergency medical service.