Nurs6029 Australian Health Care Assignment 2022

NURS6029 Australian Health Care: Global Context Assignment 2 Template Focused
Discussion and Critical Reflection 1500 words Total marks 30
STUDENT
ID_____________________________________DATE___________________________
Policy
title________________________________________________________________________
QUESTION 1 (WORD LIMIT 300) 5 marks
Provide a brief overview of your recent clinical placement setting and the policy you will be
referring to in your assignment. Your overview should have relevance for content in this unit
of study. The placement you refer to must have been undertaken during this semester
(semester 2, 2019).
Answer: The placement setting was a community healthcare working both in a primary
healthcare clinic and also provides home based treatment. The main areas were giving
immunization, basic community care, dressing the wound and a basic community care. The
community care is in compliance with the guidelines proposed by the Infection Prevention
and Control policy and works in accordance to the principles ensuring patient’s safety and
preventing the risk of infection in patients, visitors and health workers The policy is
implemented by focusing on the areas within the NSW organizations including-
 Necessity of the Infection prevention and Control Program.
 Reprocess the reusable medical devices.

 Monitoring the Infection Prevention and Control incidents and risk,
 Standard precautions related to the transmission of infections.
 Outbreaks of communicable diseases and infections that ate easily transmitted.
 The strategies and principle for the management and prevention of Hospital
Associated Infections as well as the infections caused by the communicable disease
and multi drug resistant organisms (MROs).
 The requirement for governance and quality monitoring.
 Handling and treating animals as patients.
The precautions taken to manage and minimize the risk of acquiring hospital
associated infections falls under the scope of this policy. Precautions are taken to prevent the
transmission of infections from person to person through air. Standard precautions are taken
to prevent the occurrence of Hospital Associated Infections by applying alcohol based hand
rub, antimicrobial, aseptic techniques, a proper way of cleaning and washing the areas where
the clinical procedures takes place (Mehta et al., 2014). Standard precautions must be applied
while working in the clinical settings both in hospital settings or when providing care at
home, and precautions must be taken in both the cases, while caring for all the patients as
well as while working with bodily substances including excretions and secretions and also
mucosal membranes like eyes (Health.nsw.gov.au, 2019).
QUESTION 1 WORD
COUNT______________________MARK_______________________

QUESTION 2 (WORD LIMIT 600) 10 marks
Critically review the policy, identifying, examining and presenting relevant published
research on the policy topic (no older than seven (7) years) and its relevance to the
placement setting.
Answer: The Healthcare workers, patients, visitors, careers and nurses are all susceptible to
develop hospital acquired infection or communicable diseases in a Public Health
Organization and also in a primary care centre. However, certain functional areas like the
intensive care units, transplant units, burns units and haematology units, neonatal units,
patients are potentially at a high risk of getting healthcare associated infections. There are
more than 165,000 Healthcare Associated Infections (HAIs) in the acute healthcare system in
Australia that affects not only the patients but also the health workers including nurses,
laboratory technicians, health professionals and other staffs working in the clinical settings.
The infections can occur in any settings including acute care, general clinical practice,
clinical settings where paramedics work and also in the long term facilities and makes the
most common complications within the patients (Nhmrc.gov.au, 2019). Health care workers,
since, are exposed to a contaminated environment and continuously working in an unhealthy
clinical settings, they are at a high risk of developing hospital acquired infection that can have
detrimental effects on their health. While working in such clinical settings, the health workers
including nurses often come across situations where there is a high chance of getting exposed
to contaminated samples, instruments and other hospital materials. Health care associated
infections have become a major issue for hospitals worldwide and are the most common
infection affecting patients in hospital (Fernando, Gray & Gottlieb, 2017). Some patients
receiving treatment and care in a community based settings or residential or in home based

settings are also at risk. Studies have shown that hospital associated infections are a major
cause of morbidity and increases the burden for patient’s family as well as the carers
(Safetyandquality.gov.au, 2019). Some studies believes that before the implementation of the
instructions and guidelines proposed by the Infection Prevention and control Policy there is a
strong requirement for making the health workers educated and impart knowledge among
them on the practice of the Infection control Policy (Cox & Simpson, 2018). Infection
prevention and control policy aims at minimizing the adverse health impacts on the patients
who are treated within the health care settings and reduce HAI by providing guidelines to the
NSW organizations on how to manage, prevent and control Healthcare Associated Infections
(HAIs).
Infection Prevention and Control Policy aims at providing a high quality care to the
patients as well as providing a safe working environment for the health workers working in
the clinical settings as well in community health settings. Infection Control is reinforced by
the principles of microbiology and the ways to prevent infection caused by the causative
microorganism (Slimings et al., 2014). The guidelines proposed by the Australian Infection
Prevention and control Policy provides recommendations for clinical aspects of the
prevention and control of Infections by focusing on the principles and key areas for action
(Nhmrc.gov.au, 2019). The guidelines that provide a risk management framework ensuring
the principles of infection prevention and control are to be used by all the healthcare workers
and in a wide range of healthcare settings. While implementing the principles and
recommendations the healthcare facilities must consider the risk associated with the
transmission of infection and implement the interventions in accordance with the specific
settings (Mehta et al., 2014).