Health Practitioner Infection Prevention and Control

at  Mater Group

Job no: 500713
Work type: Fixed Term
Location: South Brisbane
Categories: Clinical Nursing/Midwifery, Registered Nurse/Midwife
Mater Hospital South Brisbane have an opportunity for an Infection Prevention and Control Health Practitioner to join the team on a maximum 6 month fulltime basis.

The Health Practitioner, Infection Management provides technical and organisational leadership, advocacy and oversight of the Infection Prevention and Control service, including Staff Health and Fit Testing. The role is consultative and provides expert clinical and infection control expertise to Mater leadership and clinicians. The position is responsible for ensuring compliance and sustainability within the “Preventing and Controlling Healthcare Associated Infection” Standard of the National Safety and Quality Health Service (NSQHS) standards and providing a responsive service. The position is responsible for working in partnership with divisional and departmental leaders to provide contemporaneous advice to all employees to deliver safe and effective care. Mater is committed to creating an organisational culture that values safety, identifies system vulnerabilities, and clearly integrates risk, quality and safety functions and activities.

• Lead the development, prioritisation, promotion, implementation, maintenance and review of best-practice programs and operational policies/procedures designed to prevent and control the occurrence of healthcare-associated infection across healthcare establishments statewide.
• Responsible for the provision of expert knowledge on the risk of transmission of infectious agents by overseeing the writing, implementation, monitoring and reviewing of state policies, guidelines, procedures, systems and quality assurance activities relating to infection control and microbiological surveillance.
• Operate and strategically provide the Infection Management program with an emphasis on continual improvement, risk management and the delivery of services to achieve high-quality patient care outcomes.
• Utilise technical microbiological and infection prevention expertise and skills to address and solve complex clinical problems affecting workflow and patient safety at Mater.
• Consult with senior leadership to provide expert infection control and microbiological advice on patient safety and staff incidents within the Mater health service organisation.
• Provide expert knowledge and advice to internal and external stakeholders including but not limited to the Infection Prevention & Control Committee, Mater Health Executive, and Queensland Health to guide Mater’s response to risks in relation to ongoing infection prevention and control activities, accreditation, policies and strategy to ensure a safe hospital working and operating environment.
• Participation and leadership in state-wide Incident Management Teams responding to national and international outbreaks affecting Mater and prepare relevant documentation, response and staff communications where required.
• Lead and provide strategic direction to the infection prevention and control team in relation to professional development, planning, policy evaluation and monitoring of infection prevention and control for Mater; including the response to local and global communicable infectious diseases.
• Utilise technical expertise, knowledge and skills to identify and research current and future trends in relation to infection prevention and control affecting Mater and formulate strategies and policies/guidelines to address these issues with emphasis on (i) Management of health risks associated with health care associated infections (ii) new initiatives in health care associated infections (iii) maintaining congruence with national and international initiatives and standards.
• Consult and provide expert written and verbal microbiological and infect