Cameron Jones 1,3, Richard Anthony 2,3
1 Biological Health Services, Toorak, VIC, Australia
2 Eze Training, VIC, Australia
3 Australasian Infection Control Society Inc, VIC, Australia
Introduction
Tattoos can cause a range of problems like sun sensitivity while allergy is the dominant clinical manifestation. Skin penetration during needling of decorative and cosmetic tattoos, piercing and allied beauty arts can introduce microbes (bacteria, yeast, fungi, virus) directly into the bloodstream. A recent study showed that up to 10% of new tattoo inks are pre-contaminated with Staphylococci, Streptococci, Pseudomonas and E. coli. Australia has >1000 licensed tattoo business and many more unlicensed operators; however, as demand has increased, there is a commensurate increase in legislation (Tattoo Parlour Act 2012) promoting hygiene and safety. Currently, only NSW is regulated (Public Health Act 2010, Public Health Regulation, 2012) and adopts various Standards for sterilization, sharps disposal and containers. The purpose of this poster is to demonstrate a cloud-based mobile screening tool to inspect, document and certify typical premises.
Methods
Both building specific factors and hygiene standards were incorporated into a tablet based field input form capturing data with automatic report generation based on risk assessment fundamentals.
Results
Field testing showed that rapid identification of overt, suspect and potential problems due to building design, human error, and procedural irregularities etc. could be documented with multi-factorial, logic-based intervention strategies.
Conclusion
With re-inspection fees in NSW for compliance and prohibition orders at $250 per hour, there is a need for private operators/inspectors to comprehensively and swiftly compile field data against established checklists of infection control and prevention best practice for directed self-education and business practice improvement to reduce infection risks in diverse establishments.
