The prevention and control of infections in health services is an integral part of quality and safety improvement, and clinical risk management.
While not all healthcare-associated infections can be prevented, the Department of Health & Human Services works with health services to ensure that systems are in place to minimise their occurrence.
Key components for the effective prevention and control of healthcare-associated infections are:
- adherence to infection control guidelines and standards
- effective surveillance and monitoring
- judicious use of antibiotics
- appropriate hospital design, cleaning and maintenance standards
- sustainable hand hygiene program
- healthcare worker immunisation for vaccine-preventable diseases.