Infection Prevention and Control Unit, Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, Sydney, Australia; Infection Prevention and Control, Special Health Accommodation, Sydney, Australia.
Infection Prevention and Control Unit, Concord Repatriation General Hospital, Sydney, Australia; Infection Prevention and Control, Special Health Accommodation, Sydney, Australia.
Infect Dis Health. 2024 Aug;29(3):130-136. doi: 10.1016/j.idh.2024.03.003. Epub 2024 Apr 30.
A key aspect of Australia's response to the COVID-19 pandemic was to control transmission through legislated quarantine and isolation of overseas returning travellers and potentially infectious community members. In New South Wales, Special Health Accommodation (SHA) was rapidly established as a comprehensive health service for individuals that were at risk of having COVID-19, were confirmed to have COVID-19 or for those with complex health needs that were deemed inappropriate for management in Police managed Quarantine Hotels. SHA services were later expanded to care for community members who were COVID-19 positive and unable to effectively isolate, or contacts of individuals who were unable to quarantine effectively in their homes. SHA's unique nurse-led Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) program offers key lessons that may impact future programs.
A reflection on the experience of leading an Infection Prevention and Control program in SHA was undertaken. This was supported by a review of SHA admission, workforce and transmission data and data obtained from a cross-sectional questionnaire aimed to better understand the experiences of a novel population of health workers (HW) in a comprehensive health-led quarantine and isolation service.
SHA program data demonstrates how its IPC program implementation prevented transmission of COVID-19 to SHA staff and patients. Responses from the questionnaire suggested staff felt safe and well-prepared through the IPC education they received. They also gained transferrable knowledge and skills, which they intend to use in future healthcare roles.
The SHA nurse-led IPC program offered successful quarantine and isolation for COVID-19 in non-purpose-built facilities. A review of IPC strategies and key lessons from the establishment of the SHA IPC program are of critical importance to planning and management of current and future pandemics.
澳大利亚应对 COVID-19 大流行的一个关键方面是通过立法对海外返回旅行者和可能具有传染性的社区成员进行检疫和隔离来控制传播。在新南威尔士州，特别卫生住宿（SHA）迅速成为一项针对有感染 COVID-19 风险、已确诊患有 COVID-19 或因复杂健康需求而不适合在警察管理的检疫酒店管理的个人的综合卫生服务。SHA 服务后来扩大到照顾 COVID-19 呈阳性且无法有效隔离的社区成员，或无法在自己家中有效隔离的个人的接触者。SHA 的独特的护士主导的感染预防和控制（IPC）计划提供了可能影响未来计划的关键经验。
对领导 SHA 感染预防和控制计划的经验进行了反思。这得到了 SHA 入院、劳动力和传播数据的审查以及从横断面问卷调查中获得的数据的支持，该问卷旨在更好地了解在全面卫生主导的检疫和隔离服务中新型卫生工作者（HW）的经验。
SHA 计划数据表明，其 IPC 计划的实施如何防止 COVID-19 传播到 SHA 工作人员和患者。问卷调查的答复表明，工作人员通过他们接受的 IPC 教育感到安全和准备充分。他们还获得了可转移的知识和技能，他们打算在未来的医疗保健角色中使用这些知识和技能。
SHA 护士主导的 IPC 计划在非专用设施中成功进行了 COVID-19 的检疫和隔离。对 IPC 策略的审查以及从 SHA IPC 计划的建立中吸取的关键经验对于当前和未来大流行的规划和管理至关重要。
