Infection Prevention and Control Policy

Purpose. This policy sets out how Lakeside Health prevents the transmission of infection to patients, staff and visitors across its medical, dental, allied health, pathology and pharmacy services.

1.Purpose and scope

Lakeside will protect patients and staff from healthcare associated infection. This policy applies to every site, every clinical and non-clinical worker, students on placement, contractors and visitors. It is the parent document for the hand hygiene, reprocessing, waste and exposure procedures.

2.Policy statement

All staff must apply standard precautions to every patient, every time, regardless of known infection status. Transmission-based precautions must be added when a patient is known or suspected to have an infection spread by contact, droplet or airborne routes. The centre will maintain a triage process that identifies patients with respiratory or gastrointestinal symptoms at booking and on arrival and separates them from other patients.

• Hand hygiene at the five moments
• Personal protective equipment selected for the task
• Safe handling and disposal of sharps
• Aseptic technique for procedures
• Cleaning and reprocessing of equipment between patients
• Respiratory hygiene and cough etiquette

3.Responsibilities

The Clinical Nurse Manager is the infection prevention and control coordinator for the group and owns this policy. The Principal Dentist is responsible for the reprocessing room and its records. Department leads must ensure their staff are trained and that audits are completed. Every worker must report any breach, exposure or outbreak on the day it occurs.

4.Staff immunisation and health

Clinical staff must provide evidence of immunity or vaccination for the diseases listed in the credential register before starting clinical work. Staff with an infectious illness must not work in clinical areas until they are cleared. Exposure to blood or body fluid must be managed under the exposure procedure with immediate first aid and same-day medical review.

5.Reprocessing and single-use items

Reusable medical devices must be cleaned, inspected, packaged, sterilised and stored in line with the reprocessing procedure and the Australian and New Zealand standard. Single-use items must never be reprocessed. Every steriliser load must be recorded and traceable to the patients on whom the instruments were used.

6.Environment and waste

Clinical areas will be cleaned to the cleaning schedule with the products listed for each surface type. Clinical waste, sharps and pharmaceutical waste must be segregated at the point of generation into the correct containers and removed by the licensed contractor.

7.Audit and review

Hand hygiene compliance will be audited each quarter and reprocessing records each month. Results will be reported to the clinical governance committee with actions. This policy will be reviewed every year and after any outbreak or breach.