The reduction of healthcare associated infections is a goal that needs to be worked towards by the entire healthcare industry, backed by enforceable guidelines and standards. In hospitals, such standards are set, and clear – albeit with the need for review.
However, in the allied healthcare space, there is an information, standards and guidelines deficit. This often leaves therapists to their own, well-intentioned but often ineffective, devices. As a large and incredibly important sector in healthcare, it is one that deserves and desperately needs infection control and hygiene standards and guidelines on which to work from.
The Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Healthcare (The Commission) has developed a new draft of the National Safety and Quality Primary Healthcare (NSQPH) Standards. Purifas® is proud to have been involved in their review and has provided verbal and written feedback on how to improve these for the purposes of the allied health sector.
We thank The Commission for the opportunity to do so, and for listening to our contribution so actively. We hope to see some of our recommendations make it through to the final set of standards, expected to be released this year.
What’s the purpose of The Commission and NSQPH standards?
The Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Healthcare was established in 2006 for improving the safety and quality of national healthcare. It operates in four key areas: safe delivery of health care, partnering with consumers, partnering with healthcare professionals, and quality, value and outcomes.
Presently, The Commission is working on improving safety and quality standards for services that deliver care to people in a primary healthcare setting – these are the NSQPH standards. This of course, includes allied health professionals. There are two key reasons these standards are important:
What about current practice and standards?
There is currently insufficient focus, information and guidance on effective patient safety in a primary healthcare setting, particularly in areas like hygiene and infection control.
Healthcare associated infections are mostly preventable, yet they affect about 165,000 patients a year. Some reasons for this include lack of hygiene practice – things like bacterial transfer onto shared surfaces and hands of healthcare workers and even lack of knowledge around the effectiveness of different PPE.
For example, current “standard practice” in a physiotherapy/chiropractor setting include things like covering the bed with single use or reusable bed coverings, which don’t even cover the entire shared surface of the therapy bed. Our swabs research has found that the face hole can contain Rhinovirus and Staphylococcus Aureus. Additionally, towels are a 5-star hotel for breeding bacteria, you can read more on our blog.
How can we raise the standards?
Purifas® has submitted a list of recommendations to The Commission for the National Safety and Quality Primary Healthcare (NSQPH) Standards based on extensive research. Notably, these include:
Purifas® is proud to have participated in the process of developing the NSQPH standards and believe the inclusion of some or all of our recommendations will play a big role in reducing healthcare associated infections in Australia.
You can download our full submission to The Commission here.
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Ensuring top-notch hygiene in therapy and allied health settings is vital for client safety. Shared equipment can easily lead to cross-contamination without strict hygiene protocols. Towels, frequently used in these environments, can harbour bacteria even after washing, posing risks to both clients and therapists. This guide will help you understand these risks, avoid common mistakes and implement the best hygiene practices, all while being environmentally conscious.