Why PPE should remain the last resort even during a pandemic

Dr Michael Sinnott1

1Staff And Patient Safety , Brisbane, Australia

The COVID-19 pandemic brought infection control into the spotlight of public discourse. Moreover, there has been significant media attention on how hospitals implement prevention strategies to protect patients and staff. The initial response to COVID-19 from governments and healthcare organisations was to increase the awareness of and use of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE).

This response will be reviewed against the Hierarchy of Controls framework to investigate whether the most effective control measures have been put in place to prevent respiratory infections within healthcare organisations.

Based on this review, the effect of organisations’ over-reliance on PPE at the expense of more effective control measures such as Engineering Controls will be explored. Practical guidance will be provided as to how higher-level control measures can be invested in to prepare for future pandemics.

These principles can also be applied to improving prevention strategies for other infection risks, including blood-borne infection risks from occupational sharps injuries.

Giving infection control professionals a larger voice when designing hospitals will ensure that higher-level control measures can be effectively implemented early. Increasing awareness of the Hierarchy of Controls as a systematic way to protect staff and patients against infections will also lead to long-term investment in quality improvements.


Biography:

Dr Michael Sinnott is a senior clinician and innovator with over 35 years’ experience working in hospitals. He also has a strong background in research and education, contributing to over 40 publications and being a driving force in establishing the Queensland Emergency Medicine Research Foundation.

Dr Sinnott represented Together Queensland on the Australian Standards committee responsible for AS 1071:2015, and represented the Australian Medical Association on the committee responsible for AS 3825:2020.

His expertise in staff safety advocacy has led Dr Sinnott to work with organisations around the world to implement quality and safety improvements within healthcare.

Date

Nov 08 2021
Expired!

Time

4:00 pm - 5:00 pm

Local Time

  • Timezone: America/New_York
  • Date: Nov 08 2021
  • Time: 12:00 am - 1:00 am