Antimicrobial Stewardship

Will Holmes à Court
Will Holmes à Court
Last updated 
Effective Infection Prevention and Control

Antimicrobial stewardship (AMS) is the careful and responsible management of medications to treat or prevent infections. It is an important part of an Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) program and involves activities that promote and support best practice antimicrobial use. 

The fourth report on  Antimicrobial Use and Resistance in Australia from AURA 2021., shows that for some germs, the rates of antimicrobial resistance in residential aged care homes are as high, or higher, than rates in hospitals and reports to date indicate that high levels of inappropriate antimicrobial prescribing and use occur in these settings, providing opportunities for improved antimicrobial prescribing.

Providers need to ensure that they have AMS policies and processes to support the appropriate administration of antibiotics.

View the Antimicrobial stewardship in aged care page for more information on AMS, and the AMS Book – Chapter 16 – Antimicrobial stewardship in community and residential care for specific AMS strategies in aged care.

IPC requirements should be considered while planning and designing the care environment to minimise the spread of infections. Specific actions for home and community services include:
  • Ensuring the required standards of IPC are maintained across all areas, including offices, transport vehicles, communal facilities where care is delivered, equipment and consumers’ homes (e.g. safe disposal of PPE, accessible hand sanitiser).
  • Considering the care environments on a case-by-case basis as part of individual care planning.
Role of the HWH Principals
HWH Principals are accountable for overall quality and safety and must take an active role in governance arrangements within HWH to ensure that decisions are made to support IPC (including AMS). This includes the following responsibilities:
  • Set a clear vision, strategic direction, and strong organisational culture that drives consistently safe, high-quality, consumer-centred care with IPC in mind.
  • Lead an organisational culture that promotes individual responsibility for IPC among staff and values the IPC programs’ contribution to the safety of consumers, staff and others (e.g. encouraging staff and consumers to report examples of poor IPC practices without fear of retribution).
  • Provide administrative support, including fiscal and human resources, for maintaining IPC programs.
  • Provide leadership and support for developing, implementing and evaluating IPC policies and related systems and processes.
  • Ensure that appropriate time and resources are allocated for staff (including the IPC lead) to implement and monitor IPC policies, systems and processes effectively.
  • Ensure that the service complies with relevant legislative requirements and best practice guidelines and has processes to monitor updates to these.
  • Review, audit and monitor the effectiveness of IPC policies, systems and processes and make any necessary improvements.
  • Identify emerging IPC practices (e.g. new public health settings/requirements, new vaccination recommendations) and have processes in place to incorporate these.
IPC Leads
As a home care provider, we aren’t required to appoint an IPC lead but are encouraged to review the information and complete sufficient training to understand and manage the risks in our services and support the health and well-being of staff and aged care clients under our care.

Resources
topic-guide-21-consumer-health-and-safety.pdf 787 KB View full-size Download