A hospital-based education programme for infection control in Australia

Area of Science:

• Healthcare Education
• Infection Prevention and Control
• Nursing Practice

Background:

• Fremantle Hospital has provided an infection control course for registered nurses since 1984.
• The course aims to improve infection control practices in Western Australia.
• The program has evolved to meet changing healthcare needs.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the impact of a long-standing infection control course for nurses.
• To assess the expansion of infection control expertise in Western Australia.
• To identify areas for future development in infection control education.

Main Methods:

• A hospital-based, multidisciplinary, two-week infection control course.
• Careful candidate selection to minimize wastage.
• Ongoing course evolution and adaptation.

Main Results:

• Significant increase in nurses practicing infection control in Western Australia (from 7 to over 100).
• Improved access to infection control advice in country areas.
• Basic infection control standards have shown improvement.

Conclusions:

• The infection control course has successfully increased the number of trained practitioners.
• Further education is needed for medical, allied health, and management staff.
• Establishing a regional network of infection control practitioners is a key future goal.