Evaluating Australian Guidelines for Infection Control in Healthcare

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of the Australian Guidelines for the Prevention and Control of Infection in Healthcare, a health policy aimed at reducing hospital-acquired infections (HAIs). It identifies key areas prioritized by the guidelines, including hand hygiene, personal protective equipment (PPE), safe handling of sharps, and surface decontamination. The report evaluates the content and accuracy of the guidelines by comparing them with scholarly literature, highlighting the importance of hand hygiene, PPE, and other preventive measures in reducing the transmission of pathogens. It also addresses the challenges associated with multidrug-resistant organisms (MROs) and concludes that strict adherence to the guidelines is essential for ensuring the safety and well-being of patients and healthcare workers. Desklib offers similar solved assignments and past papers for students.

Running head: HEALTH POLICY
Infection Control
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

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Introduction
Hospital-acquired infections (HAIs) refer to those infections that are correlated with
the delivery of care services within long term care facilities such as, hospitals, home care,
ambulatory settings, and other environments (Kali et al., 2016). These infections are
unanticipated and often occur over the course of surgical or medical treatment, which in turn
subsequently results in significant illness patterns, morbidity, and mortality. The Australian
Guidelines for the Prevention and Control of Infection in Healthcare was formulated in the
year 2010, with the aim of reducing the high prevalence of HAIs in the acute healthcare
facilities of Australia (200,000/year) (Nhmrc.gov.au, 2010). The policy recognised the fact
that HAIs are one of the most common health complication that create a negative impact on
the patients admitted in hospitals. Besides resulting in preventable pain and suffering, the
adverse events associated with these infections are also responsible for lengthening the length
of hospitalisations and are expensive to the patients, their family, and the health system.
Chosen health policy
These Australian Guidelines for the Prevention and Control of Infection in Healthcare
provide commendations that sketch the critical features of contamination avoidance and
control. These recommendations had been established with the use of best available
consensus methods and evidences, by the Infection Control Steering Committee. The
guidelines have prioritised several key regions, with the aim of preventing and controlling the
spread of pathogens, across healthcare facilities. It has been recognised by the health
department that levels of risk associated with HAIs, may vary according to the dissimilar
categories of healthcare facility, and thus particular recommendations are warranted by risk
assessments. During implementation of these recommendations, it is imperative for all
healthcare facilities to consider risks of pathogen transmission, and show compliance to the
rules, according to their explicit circumstances and settings. Standard 1 precautions make it

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mandatory for all healthcare staff to follow routine hand hygiene practices, prior to, and after
all episodes of contact with patients (Nhmrc.gov.au, 2010).
The guidelines emphasise on maintaining hand hygiene before touching a patient, a
procedure, after procedure, after exposure to body fluids, and touching the surroundings.
Standards 2 and 3 place a due focus on selection of products for hand hygiene practices, and
when the hands are soiled visibly. This helps in illustrating the fact that the guidelines have
been based on current evidences that promote the effectiveness of 60-80% ethanol containing
alcohol-based hand rubs. The guidelines also contain elaborate information on the need of
using personal protective equipment (PPE) for preventing the onset and progress of HAI.
Standards 5, 6, 7, and 9 illustrate the importance of wearing aprons, face masks, protective
eyewear, and gloves, respectively, all of which are vital for lowering the risks of spread of
pathogens. Sharps have been identified as a major source of pathogen transmission and
contribute to high rates of HAIs across hospital settings (Pogorzelska-Maziarz, 2015). The
guidelines recognise the need of safe handling of sharps, their disposal, routine cleaning of
clinical equipment and surfaces in standards 9, 10, 11, and 12 (Nhmrc.gov.au, 2010).
Time and again it has been proved that lack of surface barriers prevents protection of
clinical equipment and surfaces that are likely to get contaminated with body fluids and blood
(Patterson et al., 2014). It can be stated that the guidelines have accurately recognised the
significance of using surface barriers for protecting clinical surfaces, site decontamination
after blood spills or contact with infectious materials, and implementation of adequate contact
precautions in standards 13, 14, and 15, respectively (Nhmrc.gov.au, 2010). Droplet
precautions also form an essential aspect of preventing HAIs owing to the fact that spread of
pathogen via tiny droplets from the nose or mouth is dangerous to the health and safety of all
patients, family members, as well as the healthcare staff (Munoz-Price et al., 2015).

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The standards 19, 19, 20, 21, and 22 suitably identify the need of taking into
consideration droplet precaution and also focus on the use of PPE, and subsequent placement
of the patients, in order to prevent airborne transmission of germs. The final section of the
guidelines (Section B3) elaborate on the implementation of key strategies for controlling
Multidrug-resistant organisms (MROs) that occur due to antimicrobial resistance amid
microorganisms that result in the onset and spread of infections in hospitals (Nhmrc.gov.au,
2010). Hence, it can be stated that chosen infection control policy has correctly recognised all
key domains that must be taken into consideration for preventing HAIs.
Content and analysis
Time and again it has been proved that HAIs are avoidable and preventable, and are
nosocomial infections that can be acquired in outpatient clinics, nursing homes, hospitals,
rehabilitation facilities, and different clinical settings (Phu et al., 2016). There is mounting
evidence for the fact that these infections are transmitted to the vulnerable patients in clinical
settings, by numerous means (Kalil et al., 2016). The infection is typically spread by
healthcare staff, in addition to contact with bed linens, contaminated equipment, and/or air
droplets. The infection typically originates from the external environment, an infected patient,
or staff who might be infected. Under certain circumstances the microorganism generates
from the skin microbiota of a patients, subsequently becoming opportunistic, following a
surgery that compromises the skin barrier. Hands have been identified as the most prevalent
vehicles that result in the transmission of microorganisms from an infected region to a
healthy person, thus leading to the onset of HAIs. Hence, rules on maintaining hand hygiene
in the guideline can be cited as a correct procedure owing to the fact that hand hygiene has
been recognised as the single most effective ways of averting and preventing horizontal
transmission of germs amid hospital patients and other healthcare personnel (Mehta et al.,
2014).

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The same has been proposed by Fox et al. (2015) who stated that implementation of
hand hygiene practices in hospitals was able to bring about a reduction in 12-month infection
rates for catheter-associated bloodstream infections and HAIs, thus signifying the
effectiveness of showing adherence to hand hygiene protocols. According to Sarani,
Balouchi, Masinaeinezhad and Ebrahimitabs (2016) there exists a reduced level of
understanding and awareness among healthcare personnel about hospital infections. Upon
conducting a descriptive study among nursing staff in Iran, 43% of them demonstrated poor
knowledge about HAI, thus signifying the need of formulating appropriate guidelines for
infection control.
The fact that the guidelines focused on the need of wearing PPE can be associated
with the findings of Tomas et al. (2015) who stated that contamination of the clothing and
skin of healthcare personnel occurred repeatedly for the duration of removal of contaminated
gowns or gloves. In other words, wearing proper PPE helped the healthcare personnel in
reducing clothing and skin contamination, in settings where there was a high risk of spread of
pathogens. PPE has also been recognised as an effective step in wide-ranging infection
control that is obligatory to protect patients and healthcare providers. Owing to the fact that
pathogens are primarily transmitted through cuts in skin of infected patients and direct
contact with body fluids and mucous, it is imperative to cover the infection portals with
necessary PPE (Fischer II, Weber & Wohl, 2015).
According to Lange (2014) microbial contamination, following use of protective
eyewear in operating rooms, was found in 94.9% reusable and 37.7% disposable eyewear
pieces. Following a disinfection, 74.4% reusable eyewear also showed positive culture, thus
elaborating on the fact that use of disposable eyewear reduces HAI risks. Elseviers, Arias‐
Guillén, Gorke and Arens (2014) have highlighted the fact that sharp related injuries are
significantly associated with high risks of HAIs such as, human immunodeficiency virus

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(HIV), hepatitis B virus (HBV), and hepatitis C virus (HCV). They reported that incidence
rates of sharp-related injuries ranged from 1.4-9.5/100, in addition to significant association
with transmission of infectious diseases from patients to the workers. Upon assessing the
connotation between infection rates of Clostridium difficile and single-use sharp usage, it was
found that hospitals that used single-use containers demonstrated noteworthy reduction in
infection rates, in comparison to healthcare settings that used reusable sharp containers
(Pogorzelska-Maziarz, 2015).
Blanco, Eisenberg, Stillwell and Foxman (2016) suggested that patient isolation,
usage of face masks, antiviral treatment, and prevaccination of the patients were some of the
most effective strategies that prevented transmission of pathogens in healthcare settings.
Efficacy and accuracy of the guidelines discussed in the previous section can also be
confirmed by the fact that infections associated with MROs have been identified to be more
complex to treat and control, owing to the fact that they are related with poor health outcomes
among the patients, which in turn directly increases the costs associated with acquiring
healthcare services (Tacconelli et al., 2014).
Conclusion
To conclude, preventing the onset of HAIs is considered critical for ensuring safety
and wellbeing of all patients. The Australian Guidelines for the Prevention and Control of
Infection in Healthcare have placed considerable attention in identifying the different modes
of transmission of pathogens, and have also taken into consideration best available evidences
for applying basic infection control principles, in healthcare settings. The guidelines have
formulated several standards, which are in accordance to findings from scholarly pieces of
literature, and have also applied the responsibility of demonstrating adherence to those
standards to all individuals who work in healthcare facilities, including staff, administrators

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and carers. Thus, strict adherence to the guidelines would prove effective in preventing the
onset and spread of HAIs.

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