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help determines whether patients or residents of long term care facilities with certain infectious diseases or multi-resistant organisms require single rooms & ensuites
Healthcare associated infections (HAI) are infections that are acquired as a direct or indirect result of healthcare. HAI is one of the most common complications affecting patients in hospital. As well as causing unnecessary pain and suffering for patients and their families, HAI can prolong a patient’s hospital stay and add considerably to the cost of delivering healthcare.
It is possible to reduce the incidence of HAIs through adherence to established infection prevention and control practices.
The SA Health Infection Control Service (ICS) coordinates the SA Health HAI surveillance program to monitor the occurrence of specific HAIs and provides state guidelines, tools and resource materials to assist health service providers with HAI prevention for healthcare professionals and the consumers.
audit toolkit (PDF 238KB) aim to provide additional exemplar audit tools which may be of additional assistance to healthcare facilitites.
The SA Health HAI Prevention Policy Directive (PDF 422KB) ensures systems are in place to minimise the
transmission of infectious diseases and the impact of HAI on patients and the
healthcare system.
Clinical governance and quality improvement systems must be in place to support and promote prevention and control of healthcare-associated infection, improve antimicrobial stewardship and support sustainable use of infection prevention and control resources, these include:
The Australian Guidelines for the Prevention and Control of Infection in Healthcare outlines core components of an infection prevention and control program.
Strategies for the prevention and control of healthcare associated infections include development, implementation and maintenance of:
Patients presenting with, or acquiring, an infection or colonisation with a multidrug-resistant organism, Clostridioides difficile, Candida auris or other transmissible infection during their care are identified promptly and receive the necessary management and treatment.
This includes:
Reprocessing of reusable equipment and medical devices must meet current best practice and is consistent with recurrent national standards. Health service organisation must minimise infection risks to patients and the workforce by ensuring adequate identification of, and procedures for reprocessing, reusable medical equipment.
Implementation of systems for the safe and appropriate antimicrobial prescribing and use, this includes
Information on healthcare associated infections should be provided to patients, carers, consumers and service providers.
For further information on the prevention of healthcare associated infection contact SA Health's Infection Control Service on (08) 7425 7161.