IPC at Our Practice

Policy

Refer to HealthPathways: Infection Prevention and Control

We follow strict infection prevention and control (IPC) procedures to minimise the risk and spread of infection among patients, staff, and any visitors to the practice.

Our infection prevention and control procedures are consistent with:

• NZS 8134:2021 Ngā paerewa Health and disability services standard
• AS 5369:2023 Reprocessing of reusable medical and other devices in health and non-health related facilities
• NZS 4304:2002 Management of Healthcare Waste

We meet our obligations under the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015 to protect our staff by:

• providing a safe working environment and protecting staff from infection
• making sure staff take all practicable steps to protect their health and the health of others
• actively identifying, eliminating, or minimising risk from infection.

All incidents and adverse events relating to IPC are discussed with the practice team and managed following our incident management procedure. This includes incidents or near misses that arise as a result of reprocessing reusable medical devices.

Practice team responsibilities

We have a designated IPC lead who reports directly to senior management.

Q128

We ensure all staff are aware of their IPC responsibilities:

• New staff are made aware of IPC policies during their induction.
• New staff involved in reprocessing equipment receive training and can demonstrate competency in sterilisation procedures.
• Staff receive annual training in infection prevention and control, and occupational exposure procedures.

  AS 5369:2023 recommends:

  • annual training of staff in infection prevention and control and occupational exposure procedures.
  • staff should be trained annually on infection prevention and control methods, such as personal protective equipment (PPE), hand hygiene and waste disposal.

  Source: Transitioning from AS/NZS 4187:2014 to AS 5369:2023 Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care.

• Staff comply with hand hygiene and standard precautions.
• IPC topics are a frequent agenda item at practice meetings.

Clinical governance

We identify IPC and antimicrobial stewardship as integral to services provided. Any issues identified through IPC monitoring activities, or any incidents that arise, are addressed in a timely manner. The IPC lead reports events or findings to the clinical governance group so that opportunities for quality improvement initiatives can be identified.

The built environment

To facilitate effective IPC we have:

• easy access to hand hygiene facilities
• easy-to-clean surfaces

  Easy-to-clean surfaces might include:

  • floors
  • desks
  • chairs
  • examination couches

  Where possible, these items should be:

  • smooth and non-porous, without grooves or crevices that might hold dirt
  • easy to maintain and repair, should the surface become damaged
  • non-shedding and able to tolerate repeated cleaning
  • resistant to microbial growth.

• a space allocated where we can isolate potentially infectious patients
• dirty-to-clean flow in the reprocessing (autoclave) area

  A one-way workflow in which items pass systematically from a designated dirty area, to a desginated clean area, reduces the risk of dirty-to-clean contamination.

• adequate ventilation.

  Air flow within the reprocessing room should flow from clean to dirty. You may need to conduct a gap analysis using a risk-based approach, to determine whether improvements are needed to your ventilation system.

See RNZCGP guidance: Ventilation Requirements in General Practice

Antimicrobial stewardship

We contribute to New Zealand's antimicrobial stewardship programme by promoting responsible antimicrobials prescribing, and having a robust IPC programme that promotes hand hygiene, standard precautions, and a clean practice environment.

Using antibiotics with care minimises the risk of antimicrobial resistance. Refer to the resources in Ministry of Health: Together we can keep antimicrobials working.

Related policies

Adverse Events

Incidents

Induction and Orientation