The Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (ATAGI) Secretariat has advised that the Australian Immunisation Handbook (the Handbook) was updated on 4 October 2019 to reflect changes approved by the Chief Medical Officer, Professor Brendan Murphy, on 20 September 2019. A summary of the updates is available at the following link: https://immunisationhandbook.health.gov.au/about-the-handbook/updates Note: Changes include updates to 19 chapters of the Handbook, and various administrative updates to improve the usability of the Handbook, including updates to hyperlinks throughout the Handbook.

The Antibiotic Guidelines have been extensively revised and will now be published on eTG complete in real time as new evidence emerges https://tgldcdp.tg.org.au/etgcomplete

Today the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) released the revised Australian Guidelines for the Prevention and Control of Infection in Healthcare (2019). These Guidelines provide a nationally accepted approach to infection prevention and control, focusing on core principles and priority areas for action. The guidelines are underpinned by a risk-management framework, ensuring they can be applied to a wide range of healthcare settings including hospitals, day procedure units, office‑based practice, long-term care facilities, remote area health services, home and community […]

World Hand Hygiene Day 5 May 2019

There has been an update to the Guidelines for healthcare workers who perform exposure prone procedures and healthcare workers living with a blood borne virus (BBV). The Guidelines have been updated to reflect new evidence and are consistent with changes made by other countries. They provide information and recommendations for: all healthcare workers who perform EPPs; healthcare workers who live with a BBV and perform EPPs; treating doctors of healthcare workers with a BBV who perform EPPs; and public health authorities. The […]

Dear readers Our Aged Care seasonal newsletter has just been published! Feel free to read and download from our Newsletter page https://handsoninfectioncontrol.com.au/newsletter/

World Antibiotic Awareness Week occurs annually in November. It aims to draw attention to the role of effective use of antibiotics in preventing and containing antimicrobial resistance (AMR). Antibiotic Awareness Week is a key initiative to promote the correct use of antibiotics to contribute to the avoidance of further emergence and spread of AMR. AMR is already affecting the care of healthcare consumers now and current trends indicate this will have an increasing impact over time. Key Messages for Antibiotic […]

The Australian and New Zealand College of Anaesthetists (ANZCA) and the Australia Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care (the Commission) have updated the Joint Safety Statement on the Topical application of chlorhexidine and the risks of accidental injection. Please refer to https://www.safetyandquality.gov.au/publications/anzca-and-commission-joint-statement-on-chlorhexidine/ for the updated statement.

International Infection Prevention Week (IIPW) is right around the corner. The 2018 theme: Protecting Patients Everywhere.  By joining your colleagues and healthcare facilities in celebrating IIPW, you are raising awareness of the role infection prevention plays to improve patient/client/resident/consumer safety. Keep an eye out for resources to support your activities at http://professionals.site.apic.org/

acNAPS is a voluntary annual survey that can be undertaken on any single day between 1 June 2018 and 31 August 2018. All Australian aged care homes and multi-purpose services are eligible to participate. Participation in the survey assists aged care homes to identify improvements for residents through promoting appropriate antimicrobial use, preventing infections and helping reduce antimicrobial resistance, thereby also reducing harm. The acNAPS data can also assist aged care homes in regard to the Australian Aged Care Quality […]