Reflection of my Observation visit

For my Observational visit I attended K W RCF. For the last six years I have been working in a aged care setting which includes assisting the elderly in their own home. During my visit to K W I concentrated on observing in particular Infection control practices within the care facility, as I am currently working within the community area, and the practices we use are completely different, due to lack readily available equipment.

At the entry to the facility I noticed that there were posters on the entry doors requesting that anyone displaying symptoms of cold and flu, not enter the facility. I also noted that located around the entry were several micro-shield dispensers, and posters requesting visitors to please sanitize their hands on entry and exit of the facility. As it states in Stuart, Cheng, Marshall, and Ferguson (2009) “The primary goal of infection control is to protect health care workers (HCWs), other patients and community members from acquiring a potentially serious disease.” This is a practice I was already aware of, and my observation visit just reinforced the practice.

The Clinical nurse educator for the company took our group for a tour of the facility, where she pointed out several features including the facility’s wellness centre, where she explained that a local Co-op doctor’s service practiced weekly, for staff and residents of the facility. We were then informed about the annual program for providing flu vaccines to the staff, and that it had been completed there the day before our visit.

While on my visit I had the opportunity to observe two care staff during their hand over at the end of the day shift, during the hand over I heard the staff discussing a particular female resident, who had been suffering from gastroenteritis for the past 36 hours. The care staff explained that the procedures they follow when this occurs are to, request the resident stay in their room. The staff also uses additional precautions for all interactions with the resident. The staff when discussing with me stressed the importance of using PPE to aid in preventing the spread of the virus, throughout the facility, as stated in Kirk, Roberts and Horvath (2009) “When it does occur in ACFs, gastroenteritis commonly manifests as outbreaks in which two or more residents, along with facility staff, may be affected.” Fortunately at the time of my visit there was only one resident affected, and it appeared that the precautions the staff were taking were successful.

I found that during my observation visit, I was very impressed with the staff and the procedures they followed, particularly relating to the lady with gastroenteritis. I found it helpful to me even now working in a community setting with regard to the PPE (gloves, gowns and face masks), I now ensure I have a kit with the essentials in it. Also reading the relating articles reinforced some of my prior knowledge, that it is particularly important for health care workers to follow procedures and practices. I began the visit with a biased opinion on residential facility staff. I left with a greater awareness of my own Infection control practices, and how even with six years in the industry, I still very much have some need for improvement.

References;
Kirk, M. D., Roberts, L., & Horvath, J. (2008). Understanding gastroenteritis in elderly residents of aged-care facilities. The Medical Journal of Australia, 189(9), 476-477.
Stuart, R. L., Cheng, A. C., Marshall, C. L., & Ferguson, J. K. (2009). ASID (HICSIG) position statement: infection control guidelines for patients with influenza-like illnesses, including pandemic (H1N1) influenza 2009, in Australian health care facilities. The Medical Journal of Australia, 191(8), 454-458.