Policy

Refer to HealthPathways: Infection Prevention and Control.

We follow best-practice guidelines for standard precautions at all times to minimise the risk of infection and ensure:

• quality of patient care is consistent
• cross infection is prevented
• staff are protected from infection
• ethical and legal standards are met.

Standard precaution breaches are managed through our incident management process.

Hand hygiene

Hand hygiene is the most important procedure for preventing the spread of infection:

• Alcohol-based hand sanitiser is available throughout the practice, including the entry.
• Hand basins with liquid hand cleansers and paper towels are available in all treatment/consultation rooms.
• Hand hygiene is practised before and after patient care, before an invasive procedure, before and after wearing gloves, and whenever there is an infection risk.

Refer to HealthPathways: Hand Hygiene for full details.

PPE (Personal Protective Equipment)

Protect against anticipated exposure to blood or body substances by using PPE appropriate to the situation:

Gloves

• Wear if there may be contact with body fluids or contaminated equipment.
• Change gloves between patients and when moving from a contaminated body site to a clean body site.
• Discard gloves after each procedure and clean hands.

Gowns and aprons: Wear to protect uncovered skin and clothing if the procedure may cause splashes or sprays of blood/body fluids.

Masks, respirators, and protective eyewear: Wear to protect from infectious aerosols or sprays to the face.

Refer to HealthPathways: Personal Protective Equipment.

Respiratory/cough and infectious illness precautions

Apply respiratory and cough precautions at all times:

• Cover mouth and nose when coughing/sneezing and dispose of used tissues.
• Perform hand hygiene after contact with respiratory secretions.
• Provide masks, alcohol-based hand sanitiser, and hygiene information at entrances/exits.
• Stream patients with respiratory/infectious symptoms to limit the spread of infection when there is a high level of respiratory illness in the community.

For information about streaming patients, see Managing Infectious Patients.

Refer to HealthPathways: Respiratory and Cough Etiquette.

Sharps safety

Handle and dispose of sharps carefully to prevent possible injury and transmission of infection:

• Use safety-engineered needles and sharps devices.
• Follow procedures for safe handling of used sharps.
• Manage a sharps injury as a blood and body fluid exposure event.
• Dispose of used needles in hard plastic sharps container.

For more information about sharps, see Sharps Safety (policy page).

Aseptic technique

The principles of aseptic technique include the use of standard precautions, a "no-touch" technique, using sterile instruments and equipment, and not contaminating the wound or puncture site.

Protect patients from infection by applying the principles of aseptic technique when undertaking aseptic procedures:

• Venepuncture
• Minor surgical procedures
• Cryotherapy
  • If using liquid nitrogen via an applicator or swab stick, pour into a disposable container, or one that can be sterilised.
  • Do not re-dip applicator into the container - use new swabs if more liquid nitrogen is required.
  • Use swab sticks of applicators for one patient only.
  • Do not return unused liquid nitrogen to the main storage container.
• Preparing and administering drugs for injection
  • Where possible, use single-use vials and ampoules.
• Wound care.

Cleaning patient equipment

Prevent exposure and contamination by handling equipment soiled with blood or body fluid with care:

• Wear gloves, aprons, or eye protection if required.
• Dispose of single-use items appropriately.
• Reprocess reusable equipment between patients and procedures.
• Clean and decontaminate reusable patient equipment according to how the item is used and level of risk.

For information about our processes, see Cleaning, Disinfecting, and Sterilising RMDs, and Decontaminating Specific Items.

Practice cleaning

Follow procedures for routine cleaning to reduce the risk of cross infection from surfaces:

• Clean surfaces according to the frequency and risk of contamination.
• Schedule regular cleaning at preplanned intervals.
• Carry out opportunistic cleaning as needed throughout the day.
• Promptly clean and disinfect surfaces which are contaminated by blood or body fluids.

For more information about our processes, see Blood or Body Fluid Exposure and Cleaning the Practice.

Waste disposal

Waste disposal procedures comply with NZS 4304:2002 Management of Healthcare Waste:

• Segregate waste according to its category and origin.
• Dispose of waste streams appropriately.
• Close waste containers/bags securely. Do not overfill.

For information about waste disposal, see Waste Management.

Linen and laundry

Q44

Linen is collected and washed regularly by an external linen service.

Cleaning and laundry processes are monitored for effectiveness by the infection control lead to ensure they meet the required standards. Action is taken to address cleaning quality if necessary.

Reduce the risk of cross infection from soiled linen:

• Store clean linen in clean, enclosed shelving or cupboard.
• Change used patient linen at the end of each day, or immediately after a potentially infectious patient or if marked.
• Wear gloves when handling visibly soiled linen.
• Store bagged dirty linen away from public access.
• Use paper towels or paper barrier sheeting on all pillows.