Infection prevention and control guideline update

To align with the latest Standards Australia requirements, the RACGP has updated its Infection prevention and control (IPC) guidelines section relating to the sterilisation of medical equipment.
 
The updated IPC section is in line with the Standards Australia requirement that practices will need to go through a simple risk-assessment process, allowing them to determine the level of sterilisation they need to follow for the type of work undertaken at the practice.
 
While the changes create additional requirements for practices, they will not be mandatory until 2028.
 
Chair of the RACGP Expert Committee – Standards for General Practices (REC–SGP) Dr Louise Acland said the college has interpreted the Standards Australia advice to ensure it is relevant for ‘what we do in general practice’.
 
‘The Standards Australia document is very complex because it’s been written to cover every possible healthcare scenario in the country. So whether you’re a tertiary-level hospital or a small podiatrist, the document is applicable if you reprocess your reusable medical devices,’ she told newsGP.
 
‘The update does not apply to the entire IPC guidelines, just the section relating to the reprocessing of reusable medical devices, or sterilising used instruments.  
 
‘We’ve written the update so that it applies to the most common sterilisation process that happens in general practice – not the complex, such as endoscopes or colonoscopes that require a more technical level of sterilisation. Those rare practices will need to refer to the Standards Australia document.’
 
The main change that practices need to prepare for is the requirement for a washer–disinfector that will modify the practice sterilisation workflow process. Practices have until the beginning of 2028 when the transition period finishes to comply with this new set of steps.
 
Dr Acland says the changes apply to the majority of practices in Australia.
 
‘This is what we do in general practice, so it means for most practices to comply with these guidelines, they will need to be aware that manual cleaning of instruments is no longer acceptable as a pre-cleaning step before instruments are packaged for sterilising,’ she said.
 
‘Instruments will need to be put through a washer–disinfector before they’re packaged for sterilising. This is a new piece of equipment that practices will be required to obtain to comply with our guidelines, that have been written to comply with Standards Australia.’
 
The RACGP recognises there may be a cost to some practices to purchase the washer–disinfector to meet the requirements, and is advocating for support from Primary Health Networks to allocate in the form of practice grants.
 
Additionally, Dr Acland says practices will need to slightly modify their workflow process under the incoming changes.
 
‘Manual cleaning of instruments that need to be sterilised will no longer be sufficient to be consistent with best practice. The change will free up considerable nurse time, as the manual cleaning of instruments will no longer need to be done,’ she said.
 
‘The transition period is consistent with that of the Australian Commission for Safety and Quality in Health Care who have updated their IPC guidelines to comply with Standards Australia.’
 
To support practices to prepare for the upcoming IPC changes, the RACGP has developed resources, including a video and FAQs page.
 
Dr Acland says the college will also provide support to accreditation agencies to ensure they understand what is involved, and practices can contact the REC–SGP with any questions.
 
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