September 17, is World Patient Safety Day and consumers and those who work to prevent infection are calling for all Australians to recognise the vital part we can all play in uniting to halt COVID-19.

The Consumers Health Forum of Australia and the Australasian College of Infection Prevention and Control are joining to observe World Patient Safety Day to champion the need for continued effort to combat COVID-19.

A brief message of support.

The increasing number of COVID-19 cases in Victoria will have a significant impact on health services across the state. Many will require hospitalisation, including admission to intensive care.

The number of cases amongst healthcare workers also means significant numbers of staff are furloughed. With this, the resources for contact tracing are in great demand. Deployment, upskilling and agility characterise day to day work. These are just some of the challenges our members and colleagues are facing.

Whilst I know all ICPs have been working extraordinarily hard over these last few months, at this time, on behalf of all ACIPC members, I want to specifically call out to all our Victorian colleagues to let them know they have the Colleges full support. 

I have had many members from across Australia contact me expressing their concern and well wishes for their Victorian colleagues.

Victoria is now one week in to a six-week Level 3 restriction. All of Australia is watching and hoping the numbers will turn around soon. We are all grateful for the enormous effort of our Victorian members right now.

Stay safe.

Phil Russo

ACIPC President

From the President

Dear Colleagues,

I continue to be in awe of the ongoing hard work and dedication of our members, and the larger community in responding to COVID-19. In the midst of such exhaustive work, we also need to be cognisant of new data and findings as they come to light, and learn.Recently we have seen some crucial information published. Since the start of July, over 2200 HCWs in Victoria have acquired COVID-19. Of the 1780 that have been investigated it is estimated at least 69% acquired the infection in the workplace, and it is expected this proportion will increase as more investigations are completed. What we don’t know is how exactly these infections were acquired. Many assume that failure of PPE, or that incorrect type of PPE (read masks) is to blame. But we must also acknowledge likely of heavy environmental contamination, close contact between healthcare workers, and lack of skill and knowledge are also important factors. We simply do not have detailed data to be sure. Basic epidemiological data on those investigations are available here Victorian HCW COVID-19 infections Fears of the outcome of COVID-19 outbreaks in certain groups are coming to light, with many deaths linked to outbreaks in aged care facilities. Enormous efforts are underway with many ACIPC members directly involved in responding to this emergency. Also from Victoria, the COVID-19 Hotel Quarantine Inquiry findings to date are also publicly available, and I would recommend members to keep an eye on the progress of the inquiry. Recently, in NSW the Newmarch House COVID-19 Outbreak findings were published with many important findings specific to infection prevention and control in these settings.

Whilst the devastating effect of this pandemic cannot be underestimated or glossed over, it is important to also try and look for some positive outcomes. Clearly, the infection prevention literacy amongst our colleagues, politicians and the community at large has skyrocketed. At times it seems like everybody is an expert, but really, this reflects the genuine concern and interest many folk have in the work we do (not so long ago we were constantly challenged by certain groups of the need to perform hand hygiene so frequently). The incidence of influenza is lower this year, hopefully associated with the increased awareness of infection prevention. And from the viewpoint of the College, enrolments in our Foundations of Infection Prevention Course, and our Aged Care courses have never been higher. Credit to Jackie Miley for the excellent work she is doing in keeping our education up to date and accessible.
On another note, you will have recently received an email regarding the ACIPC Conference Community. This exciting new venture will offer many features for members and stakeholders during these unusual times. Thank you to the team at Conference Design for their work on this.

Finally, congratulations to Dr Stephane Bouchoucha who has just been awarded Fellowship of ACIPC in recognition of his leadership and excellent contribution to IPC and to the College.
Take care and stay safe, till next time.
Phil Russo
ACIPC President
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The Australasian College for Infection Prevention and Control is the peak body for infection prevention and control professionals in the Australasian region. Our vision is to empower our members to be leaders in infection prevention and control. ACIPC members are key decision makers in the field of infection prevention and control and include nurses, aged care workers industry professionals, scientists, academics and educators, policy makers, dentists, veterinarians, beauticians and tattooists. Meet our Board of Directors and find out more about ACIPC here.

Call for nominations: The Claire Boardman CICP Medal for Leadership in Infection Prevention and Control.

This award is the highest honour of the Australasian College for Infection Prevention and Control in recognition of the College’s Inaugural President, Ms Claire Boardman, and her leadership in establishing the College.It is bestowed upon a member of the College who demonstrates outstanding commitment to, the leadership of, the profession and practice of infection prevention and control, and to the Australasian College for Infection Prevention and Control.

Individuals may self-nominate or be nominated by a third party. Nominations must be submitted by emailing officemanager@acipc.org.au and address all entry criteria by COB 30th September 2020.More information can be found on the Scholarships and Awards page.



The National COVID-19 Clinical Evidence Taskforce has been established to undertake continuous evidence surveillance to identify and rapidly synthesise emerging research in order to provide national, evidence-based guidelines for the clinical care of people with COVID-19. ACIPC is proud to be a member partner of the Taskforce. 

The taskforce works closely with the National Infection Control Expert Group, on which ACIPC is also represented, advising the Australian Health Protection Principal Committee (AHPPC) and its other standing committees on infection prevention and control issues.

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Membership to the College provides an opportunity to ‘influence’ practice by discussing ideas, and projects and supporting each other through the Special Interest Groups and Infexion Connexion.

The diversity of our members means the College is able to contribute to the vision of helping to improve, strengthen and support infection prevention and control, provide essential educational material and tools and, to share experience and expertise amongst those in developing countries and poorly resourced environments.

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