National standard urges prompt action for anaphylaxis

Are you familiar with the new national Acute Anaphylaxis Clinical Care Standard? Each year more than 11,500 Australians present to public hospital emergency departments with anaphylaxis – up 51% in the five years to 2019-20.

Early recognition of anaphylaxis is crucial, as reactions can escalate quickly. The new standard, launched in November, emphasises the need for prompt acute treatment and continuity of patient care post-event. Watch our launch webcast to hear experts discuss how to reduce harm to anaphylaxis patients.

Download the standard and practical resources and read the recent Hospital + Healthcare article by Clinical Director, Associate Professor Amanda Walker.  

Patient safety culture measurement toolkit

A positive patient safety culture is related to better outcomes for patients and higher levels of satisfaction for hospital staff. Our new Patient Safety Culture Measurement Toolkit offers advice on measurement for quality improvement – from planning through to improvement strategies. It offers templates and a survey validated in Australian hospitals.

Asking staff about their views and experiences identifies insights that can help target improvements, and supports a culture that puts patients at the centre of care.

We recognise that COVID-19 is the current priority. The toolkit is available to support improvements when the time is right. Watch out for events and resources to support implementation during 2022.

Fostering a shared understanding on healthcare rights

Quick-reference summaries of the Australian Charter of Healthcare Rights have been released to further support consumers, their families, carers and health service organisations with a shared understanding of the seven healthcare rights.

The new easy-to-read flyer for consumers describes what people can expect when receiving healthcare, and will help patients to have conversations with their clinicians about healthcare rights. The second flyer summarises the key responsibilities of health service organisations in upholding consumer rights. 

We encourage you to access the supportive resources and share with your patients, advocates and colleagues.

Help with open disclosure discussions in health care

Australian patients need support when things don’t go to plan in their health care. New resources on open disclosure will increase understanding of the process and support communication between clinicians and their patients.

Open disclosure is the discussion about an incident that caused someone harm when they received health care – with patients, their healthcare providers and the people who support them (such as family, carers or friends).

Available in easy English versions and 25 language translations, the Commission consulted with peak consumer health agencies in the development of these fact sheets. Download and share the open disclosure resources.

Guide for health services on managing incidents

We have released a new Incident Management Guide to improve how health service organisations manage and learn from incidents – an event that resulted (or could have), in unintended or unnecessary harm to a patient; or a complaint, loss or damage.

In Australia, hospital patient safety incidents are captured through local incident management systems, to identify, report, manage and learn from incidents. Our guide complements state and territory policies and provides an overview of the best practice approaches and processes.

Quick Bites

Review of National Hand Hygiene Initiative (NHHI) modules

A core element of the Commission’s work to support improvement in infection prevention and control (IPC) in health care is through the NHHI self-directed, online learning modules. We are undertaking a comprehensive review of the IPC and hand hygiene modules to ensure consistency with the NSQHS Standards and the Australian Guidelines for the Prevention and Control of Infection in Healthcare (2019). The first updated module – Principles of infection prevention and control – is available to registered learners at nhhi.southrock.com.

Antimicrobial stewardship in rural and remote health services

The latest chapter to be added to Antimicrobial Stewardship in Australian Health Care (the AMS Book) describes issues affecting antimicrobial use in rural and remote hospitals and health services. Chapter 17 identifies resources to support appropriate prescribing of antimicrobials and provides practical strategies to improve antimicrobial stewardship activities in rural and remote areas. Access the AMS Book and new resources.

Latest AGAR report now available

The AGAR Sepsis Outcomes Programs 2020 Report provides an analysis of data on antimicrobial resistance associated with episodes of bacteraemia. Produced in collaboration with the Australian Group on Antimicrobial Resistance (AGAR), the report includes analyses of antimicrobial resistance surveillance data from 30 laboratories servicing 49 health service organisations across Australia. The findings show: that the onset of bacteraemia episodes was overwhelmingly in the community; increasing resistance to important antimicrobial agents in Escherichia coli (a major cause of urinary tract infections); and, increasing fluoroquinolone resistance remains a concern.

Careers at the Commission

Meet Anna Flynn, Director, Partnering with Consumers

What is your role, in 25 words or less?

I look after the Partnering with Consumers team. Our team helps health services and consumers work together to improve patient outcomes and experiences.

What did you do before the Commission?

I worked at the Heart Foundation for a year prior to joining the Commission. I previously spent nine years at the Independent Hospital Pricing Authority as the Communication Manager before taking over leadership of the Policy Development team.

What was your first job?

I did a paper round (newspaper delivery) for three years from the age of 13. Not an easy job on very hilly streets during cold Yorkshire winters. The Christmas tips were a huge incentive and I saved enough to buy my first Sony Walkman.

The question I hear most often in my work is…

"Mum, can I play on the Nintendo?" – thank goodness home schooling is over (at time of writing…). At work I'm often asked "how do we ensure this is accessible to those who need it most?" My team is constantly working on projects to address this question. One current example is a co-design project to develop a version of our animation on the Australian Charter of Healthcare Rights for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island peoples in different languages.

What are the top three things on your to-do list?

1. Finalising a consumer representative guide – a resource developed in collaboration with the Consumers Health Forum of Australia to assist consumers and health services with strategies to form meaningful and productive partnerships.
2. Continuing the excellent work that’s been completed to date on the National Sepsis Program.
3. Taking my seven-year-old son to see some live sport and live music.

What are you looking forward to in 2022?

A lot more face-to-face engagements and hopefully a return to ‘precedented’ times. I’m getting a bit lonely in my home office now and ready for human engagement. Starting a new role during the pandemic has made me realise the importance of those small interactions in the workplace. I’m also hoping to visit my family in the UK later in the year, after a long separation.