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Australian Guidelines for the Prevention and Control of Infection in Healthcare

The Australian Guidelines for the Prevention and Control of Infection in Healthcare have been developed for use in all healthcare settings, including office-based practices. They contain guidance on personal protective equipment (PPE), standard and transmission-based precautions and outbreak management.   

More information from ACSQHC  |   NHMRC |  Download File - 4 MB (4.39 MB)  |  You can access the most recent version, at any time, on MAGICapp.

Guidelines for the Control of Infectious Diseases

• Disease information and advice:  Up to date online A-Z list of blue book diseases with descriptions, notification requirements, school exclusions and management guidelines.

These guidelines for the control of infectious diseases provide detailed information about common and rare diseases that may pose public health concerns. Each topic includes sections on notification requirements, school and childcare exclusion, identification of symptoms, incubation periods, modes of transmission and control measures. These guidelines aim to assist public health practitioners in the prevention and control of infectious diseases.

• Infection control - standard and transmission-based precautions:  Standard precautions are the minimum infection prevention and control practices that must be used at all times for all patients in all situations.

• COVID-19 Best practice approaches for safe staff amenities for health services:  Health services staff must have access to safe facilities to take meal breaks, use bathrooms, access training and other necessary activities, without compromising physical distancing and infection prevention control (IPC) measures.

The Australian Immunisation Handbook provides clinical advice for health professionals on the safest and most effective use of vaccines in their practice.

The Australian Health Facility Guidelines are made up to six Parts.  Part B contains the Health Planning Unit documents, Schedules of Accommodation and all Standard Component Room Layouts and Room Data Sheets.

Guidelines:

Infection Prevention and Control in Endoscopy 2021

enHealth (2015). Guidelines for Legionella control in the operation and maintenance of water distribution systems in health and aged care facilities. Australian Government, Canberra.These guidelines are designed to assist facility managers to assess and manage the risk from Legionella in health and aged care facilities. They are aimed at facility managers and the members of a facility’s Legionella risk management team to support the development of a Legionella risk management plan.

Therapeutic guidelines : Antibiotic

The Antibiotic guidelines provide guidance on prophylaxis for surgical, medical, obstetric and immunocompromised patients. The presence of highlighted important information and comprehensive tables makes information easy to find and process. Special populations such as aged-care residents, immunocompromised patients and children are covered.

• AS 5369:2023 [current] Reprocessing of reusable medical devices and other devices in health and non-health related facilities -- Hard copies available in the Library's Reference Collection and the Infection Control Office

• AS/NZS 4187:2014:  Reprocessing of reusable medical devices in health service organisations  --  Hard copies available in the Library's Reference Collection, Library Office, Infection Control Office, and Facilities Management.

• AS18/07: Reprocessing of reusable medical devices in health service organisations   --  The purpose of this advisory is to describe the minimum requirements for health service organisations’ compliance with Action 3.17 (formerly Action 3.14 in the 2017 National Safety and Quality Health Service Standards) to relevant national or international standards for reprocessing of reusable medical devices in health service organisations.    |   Download PDF - 297 KB (297.07 KB)

• AS/NZS 4146:2000 Laundry practice  --  Hard copies available in the Library's Reference Collection and the Infection Control Office.  Integrated into :  Codes of Practice for Public Healthcare Operated Laundries and Linen Services. 

• Antimicrobial Stewardship Clinical Care Standard (2020)   The 2020 Antimicrobial Stewardship Clinical Care Standard describes the key components of care for patients who have an infection or who or at risk of an infection. It contains eight quality statements and ten indicators.  |  More Information  |  Download PDF - 3 MB (2.74 MB)

• Every two years the ACORN Standards for Perioperative Nursing are researched and reviewed to support contemporary evidenced-based practice. The ACORN Standards are highly respected and are utilised by accreditation authorities with the standards having been cited within the Australian Law Courts in several medico legal cases. It is incumbent on all perioperative nurses to have an understanding of the standards. 
• The ACORN Practice Audit Tools (PATs) are customised spreadsheets to record evidence of clinical practice during real-time observational audits of perioperative nurses.  ACORN has produced 12 PATs, grouped into two ‘bundles’, which align with the current 16th edition of Standards for Perioperative Nursing in Australia (the ACORN Standards).  LOGIN UserID & password required for access - See Librarian, Theatre or Infection Control Managers for details.  To login, use the PATs link on the left menu and then 'Log in to access Practice Audit Tools (PATs) eFile Access'   

• Infection prevention and control standards for general practices and other office-based and community-based practices (5th edition)  -  The Infection prevention and control standards for general practices are intended as a guide to assist health professionals and other staff implementing infection prevention and control procedures.

• Gorski, Lisa, MS, RN, HHCNS-BC, CRNI, Hadaway, Lynn, MEd, RN, NPD-BC, CRNI, et al. (2021). Infusion Therapy Standards of Practice, 8th Edition. Journal of Infusion Nursing, 44, S1-S224. https://doi.org/10.1097/NAN.0000000000000396

The National Safety and Quality Health Service (NSQHS) Standards provide a nationally consistent statement of the level of care consumers can expect from health service organisations.

Links to the NSQHS Standards

Clinical Governance Standard

Partnering with Consumers Standard

Preventing and Controlling Infections Standard

Medication Safety Standard

Comprehensive Care Standard

Communicating for Safety Standard

Blood Management Standard

Recognising and Responding to Acute Deterioration Standard

The Aged Care Infection Prevention and Control Guide

To support implementation of the strengthened Aged Care Quality Standards, the Commission has released The Aged Care Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) Guide. This Guide supplements the Australian Guidelines for the Prevention and Control of Infection in Healthcare and aims to support the aged care workforce and those providing care for older people to understand basic IPC principles and to apply these principles using a risk-based approach.

The Aged Care Quality Standards - The Commission expects organisations providing aged care services in Australia to comply with the Quality Standards.  The Standards, guidance and resources are available for download, including apps.   |  Download here

• A guide for the management and control of gastroenteritis outbreaks in aged care, special care, health care and residential care facilities  This guide has been produced to assist in the management and control of outbreaks of gastroenteritis (gastro) in aged care, special accommodation, hospitals and other residential care facilities such as supported residential services (SRS) and disability group homes.  | More Information and Download
• Management of Acute Respiratory Infection outbreaks, including COVID-19 and influenza, in residential care facilities (RCFs)  The purpose of this guideline is to provide state-wide public health advice to support exposure and outbreak management of acute respiratory infections including COVID-19, influenza and RSV in residential care facilities (RCFs). It is intended to be used in conjunction with the Outbreak Management Plans (OMP) developed by the residential care facility.   | More Information and Download

First 24 hours – managing COVID-19 in a residential aged care facility 

The first 24 hours in managing a confirmed COVID-19 case in a residential aged care facility (RACF) is critical to minimise the spread of the virus and its impact on residents and staff. This checklist is to help residential aged care providers and their staff to manage a COVID-19 positive case or outbreak in the first 24 hours. The steps listed in this document are relevant to the Delta and Omicron variants. Please visit the links within the checklist for more information.  |   Download

National Centre for Antimicrobial Stewardship, University of Melbourne and Royal Melbourne Hospital, Australia

July 2022 - Antimicrobial use in Aged Care YouTube Video

Australasian Society for Infectious Diseases

The Australasian Society for Infectious Diseases is the peak professional body for infectious diseases and microbiology in the region and a key stakeholder for government departments, medical colleges and other societies, including international organisations.  The site has a number of open access resources for Infection Control Practitioners.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

• Guidelines & Guidance Library: Infection control guidelines and recommendations for healthcare settings
• Tools for Healthcare Settings: Infection control information and resources for acute care, dialysis, long-term care and outpatient settings.

Where the full text is not available, please request articles from the Library using the Article Request Form.

• American Journal of Infection Control  -  AJIC covers key topics and issues in infection control and epidemiology. Infection control professionals, including physicians, nurses, and epidemiologists, rely on AJIC for peer-reviewed articles covering clinical topics as well as original research.
• Journal of Hospital Infection  -  The Journal of Hospital Infection is the editorially independent scientific publication of the Healthcare Infection Society. The aim of the Journal is to publish high quality research and information relating to infection prevention and control that is relevant to an international audience.
• Infection Prevention in Practice (IPIP) -  An open access companion title to the respected Journal of Hospital Infection, is the editorially independent online journal of the Healthcare Infection Society (HIS). IPIP provides a comprehensive fully open access resource for all those working in the field of prevention and treatment of healthcare-associated infections (HCAIs) worldwide.
• Journal of Infection  -  The Journal of Infection publishes original papers on all aspects of infection - clinical, microbiological and epidemiological. The Journal seeks to bring together knowledge from all specialties involved in infection research and clinical practice, and present the best work in the ever-changing field of infection.
• Journal of Infection Prevention  -  [12 month embargo on some articles]  Official publication of the Infection Prevention Society for health professionals dedicated to infection prevention and control, it features original research, guidelines for best practice, case studies, and reviews.

• Infection : A Journal of Infectious Diseases  -  The journal Infection is a peer-reviewed forum for the presentation and discussion of clinically relevant information on infectious diseases for readers and contributors from all over the world. Articles deal with etiology, pathogenesis, diagnosis and treatment of infectious diseases in outpatient and inpatient setting.