• Christmas Greetings
• Changes to data collection and reporting: Surgical Antibiotic Prophylaxis (SAB)
• Hospital Peer Groups
• Aged Care National Antimicrobial Prescribing Survey Report 2018
• Literature Review - Candida auris
• CVC or PVC associated SAB
• National Hand Hygiene Initiative (NHHI) 
• VICNISS staff
• Help us keep you informed

Merry Christmas from VICNISS. 

We hope you get to relax and enjoy some good times with family and friends. For those that are working, we hope there is a change in pace and maybe a few quiet days. 

Wishing you all health and happiness for 2020

You will be aware of changes that have been made to data collection for surgical prophylaxis including collection of data regarding treatment antibiotics. Some additional small changes are also being made to data on duration of administration of prophylaxis.

We have had feedback reminding us that some hospitals are now collecting data using software, meaning any changes to data collection need to be negotiated through the software provider.

These changes are being made to improve and update the antibiotic prophylaxis compliance reporting. We believe these changes will result in information which is

• significantly more useful for antimicrobial stewardship activities
• more consistent with data obtained from NCAS surveys
• updated for consistency with the latest version of Therapeutic Guidelines: Antibiotic, version 16

We will do our best in future to keep changes to data collection to annual updates at most and allow sufficient time for implementation. Please contact us if you are having problems with meeting the current timeframes.

VICNISS is currently developing revised and new on-line reports. One of the new features in these reports will be the capacity for hospitals to compare against peer group and state aggregate data.

The ‘Australian Hospital Peer Groups’ published by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/hospitals/australian-hospital-peer-groups/contents/table-of-contents) have been used as a framework to classify hospitals into peer groups suitable for comparing healthcare-associated infection data.

We will soon be publishing these draft peer groups on the VICNISS website as part of the consultative phase of this work. You are invited to provide input regarding the utility of these groups for future reporting - you will receive an email when the list is available and we would welcome your feedback within the set timeframe.

The 2018 Aged Care National Antimicrobial Prescribing Survey Report can now be accessed via the VICNISS website.  Click on the link   Learn more >

A/Prof. Noleen Bennett recently gave an interview with the Australian Prescriber on the results of the latest AcNaps report.  Are antibiotics overused in aged care? Listen to the podcast or read the transcript to find out.  Learn more >

Dr Lyn-li Lim has prepared a literature review on Candida auris

• Candida auris: An emerging multi-drug resistant organism associated with outbreaks in healthcare settings

Click on the link to read this review  Learn more >

VICNISS together with stakeholders have developed a definition that clarifies a peripheral intravenous catheter (PIVC) associated Staphylococcus aureus blood stream infection (SAB) as distinct from a central venous catheter (CVC) associated SAB.  From January 1 2020, all SABs attributed to the use of an intravenous catheter will be required to apply the following definitions when assessing CVC or PIVC associated SAB.

For more information please refer to the VICNISS website, educational resources under the SAB module

Learn more >

Change to the Coordination of the National Hand Hygiene Initiative (NHHI)

Due to recent changes to the coordination of the NHHI any previously saved links to the Hand Hygiene Compliance Application (HHCApp) and the Learning Management System will no longer work. The NHHI site can be accessed via this link: https://www.safetyandquality.gov.au/our-work/infection-prevention-and-control/national-hand-hygiene-initiative

You should be able to access everything you need here including online learning modules, HHCApp desktop and mobile and Workshop Resources (available by end of the year). Use the links on the left as well as the right hand side menu (go to Infection Prevention and Control/National Hand Hygiene Initiative) to navigate.

If auditing using a mobile device, logout, remove the existing HHCApp mobile icon from the home screen, clear history and website data (via Settings/Safari) then save the new icon to your home screen via https://nhhi.safetyandquality.gov.au/mobile/

Gold Standard Auditor Workshops for 2020

If you would like to attend a Gold Standard Auditor Workshop in 2020 please contact jennifer.bradford@mh.org.au or andrea.brebner@mh.org.au and include your name, hospital name, your role,  email address, contact phone number and any special dietary requirement and we will be in touch when details of the next workshop are confirmed.

If your hospital would like to host a Gold Standard Auditor workshop in 2020 or you would like further information on what this would entail, please contact Jennifer Bradford on 9342 9356 or email: jennifer.bradford@mh.org.au. Without your support the GSA workshops cannot run, so any assistance with a venue would be much appreciated.

General Auditor Workshops

If you are planning to run your own General Auditor Workshop in the near future please note that the Workshop Resources are not currently available online. If you are running a Workshop and need to access these resources or require assistance with your first workshop please contact Jennifer Bradford on Jennifer.bradford@mh.org.au or phone 9342 9356

Hospitals from the Asia Pacific Region

Registration is now open for applications for the Asia Pacific Hand Hygiene Excellence Award 2020.  Based on the WHO Hand Hygiene Self-Assessment Framework hospitals from three regions can participate to be honoured for their work and become a role model for other hospitals.

Learn More>

Hand Hygiene Compliance Application

Remember that Organisation Administrators are responsible for keeping their organisation details up to date in the Hand Hygiene Compliance Application (HHCApp). Would you please check that the Acute bed numbers, Departments and User details are correct for your organisation including primary contact/s.

Learn more >

Increase in Victorian hand hygiene target to 83%.

The Victorian Department of Health and Human Services has increased the Victorian hand hygiene target to 83% effective from 1st July 2019. This is documented in the Key Performance Measures and Underlying Risk Factors 2019-20, August 2019 edition Learn more > (see p.8). This was also documented in each hospitals Statement of Priorities 2019-20 Agreement between the Minister for Health and the hospital.

After travelling the world on a well earned 12 month break, Mike Richards has returned as Director of VICNISS refreshed and with much enthusiasm.

We were in good hands in Mike's absence with thanks to Leon Worth who remains with VICNISS as our Infectious Disease Physician.

Do we have your contact details recorded accurately? What about your staff and your health service? Have you had a change in CEO or infection control staff? Please let us know.

It's important that you check on the VICNISS website under "MANAGE ACCOUNT"  (top right hand corner, drop down box under your name) to make sure we have all details accurately recorded particularly your job title and position classification.  This allows VICNISS to tailor information sent to you with only relevant news specific to your role.  We are mindful that your inbox can fill up fast so please assist us with making sure we are not sending through any unnecessary emails.

Please feel free to contact us if we can assist in anyway.