About IPC at Our Practice

Policy

Refer to HealthPathways: Infection Prevention and Control

We follow strict infection prevention and control (IPC) procedures to minimise the risk and spread of infection among patients, staff, and any visitors to the practice.

Our infection prevention and control procedures are consistent with:

• NZS 8134:2021 Ngā paerewa Health and disability services standard
• AS/NZS 4815:2006 Office-based Health Care Facilities – Reprocessing of reusable medical and surgical instruments
• NZS 4304:2002 Management of Health Care Waste

We meet our obligations under the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015 to protect our staff by:

• providing a safe working environment and protecting our staff from infection
• making sure staff take all practicable steps to protect their health and the health of others
• actively identifying, eliminating, or minimising risk from infection.

All incidents and adverse events relating to IPC or antimicrobial stewardship are discussed with the practice team and managed following our incident management procedure.

Infection prevention and control lead

We have a designated IPC lead who reports directly to senior management with serious IPC issues.

Our IPC lead is responsible for overseeing and coordinating IPC activity, including:

• supporting staff to comply with IPC procedures
• enabling IPC education and training on induction and regularly as required
• providing access to up-to-date evidence-based IPC information
• antimicrobial stewardship
• monitoring risk factors for infection
• purchasing decisions for IPC consumables and equipment, and other reusable equipment.

Practice team responsibility

We ensure practice staff are aware of their IPC responsibilities:

• New clinical staff are made aware of IPC policies during their induction.
• IPC topics are a frequent agenda item at practice meetings.
• Nursing staff receive training in standard precautions and sterilisation procedures during their orientation and as needed.
• Regular building and equipment maintenance is carried out.

The built environment

To facilitate effective IPC we have:

• easy-to-clean surfaces

  Easy-to-clean surfaces might include:

  • floors
  • desks
  • chairs
  • examination couches

  Where possible, these items should be:

  • smooth and non-porous, without grooves or crevices that might hold dirt
  • easy to maintian and repair, should the surface become damaged
  • non-shedding and able to tolerate repeated cleaning
  • resistant to microbial growth

• a space allocated where we can isolate potentially infectious patients
• dirty-to-clean flow in the reprocessing (autoclave) area

  A one-way workflow in which items pass systematically from a designated dirty area, to a desginated clean area, reduces the risk of dirty-to-clean contamination.

• adequate ventilation.

See RNZCGP guidance: Ventilation Requirements in General Practice

Antimicrobial stewardship

We contribute to New Zealand's antimicrobial stewardship programme by promoting responsible antimicrobials prescribing and having a robust IPC programme that promotes hand hygiene and standard precautions.

Using antibiotics with care minimises the risk of antimicrobial resistance. Refer to the resources in Ministry of Health: Together we can keep antimicrobials working.