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 and can adversely affect a patient's healthcare experience, including prolonged hospital stays and add considerably to the cost of delivering healthcare.
Monitoring the incidence of HAIs through surveillance helps health services identify trends, evaluate infection prevention and control measures and target improvements to reduce the risk of infection and improve patient outcomes.
The Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care (ACSQHC) National Quality Safety and Health Service (NQSHS) Standards require health service organisations to have an infection surveillance strategy. Guidance on HAI surveillance is also provided in the Australian Guidelines for the Prevention and Control of Infection in Healthcare.
SA Health Local Health Networks (LHNs) are required to undertake HAI Surveillance in accordance with the SA Health Service agreements and Performance framework and key performance indicators and the SA Health Infection Prevention and Control and Healthcare Associated Infection Surveillance and Reporting Policy.
The SA Health ICS coordinates the ICS HAI Surveillance Program. The program includes the collection, analysis and reporting of HAI surveillance data from SA public hospitals, with voluntary participation from SA private hospitals.
Participating hospitals collect HAI surveillance data using standardised surveillance definitions and submit this information to the ICS each month. The data undergoes quality assurance before being analysed and reported as aggregate, de-identified infection rates. Results are risk-adjusted where appropriate to enable meaningful comparison between hospitals with different patient populations and levels of clinical complexity/acuity.
The program supports infection prevention and control activities by:
The ICS HAI Surveillance Program uses standardised surveillance definitions that are reviewed annually in consultation with participating health services. Current surveillance definitions are available for:
Quarterly reports are provided to participating LHNs and participating private hospitals to support data governance, benchmarking and improvement. SA Health LHN surveillance findings are also reviewed by the south Australian Infection Reference Group (SAIRG).
As part of the HAI Surveillance Program, the ICS produces annual HAI surveillance reports incorporating detailed epidemiological analyses of aggregated, de-identified data provided by SA Health LHNs and private hospitals participating in the HAI Surveillance Program on a voluntary basis. The reports include:
Reports are provided directly to contributors in the program.
HAI Surveillance Program reports, including previous reports, are available on request. To request a copy, please contact the SA Health Infection Control Service at healthICS@sa.gov.au.
National infection surveillance and monitoring is undertaken by the ACSQHC for:
The ACSQHC also provides advice for approaches to surgical site infection surveillance: For acute care settings in Australia.
The Australian and New Zealand Intensive Care Society (ANZICS) use CLABSI surveillance data from participating Australian intensive care units (ICUs) to produce de-identified comparative reports. These reports enable participating ICUs to compare CLABSI rates against peer units throughout Australia.
NOTE: Healthcare facilities not participating in SA Health ICS HAI Surveillance Program should refer to local policies and procedures for requirements relevant to their facility.
For further information on the SA Health surveillance program, contact SA Health's Infection Control Service.