Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) health alert: Visit the Department of Health website for the latest information.

Victorian and Tasmanian PHNs are working on local responses, visit the PHN websites for more information.

VTPHNAVTPHNAVTPHNAVTPHNA
  • About us
    • About the Alliance
    • Collaboration
    • Leadership
    • PHN Publications
    • Thought Leadership
  • Our Work
    • Best practice, prevention, management and support
      • Accelerated uptake of Hepatitis C medicines
      • Carer Awareness in General Practice
      • Community led cancer screening
      • GP Respiratory Clinics
      • Infection Prevention Helpline
      • Lymphoedema Primary Care Capacity Building
      • Optimal Care Pathways
        • Optimal Care Pathways – Oesophagogastric Cancer OCP
        • Optimal Care Pathways – Prostate Cancer
      • Place-based Suicide Prevention
      • Priority Primary Care Centres
      • Statewide Paediatric HealthPathways Project
      • Victorian HIV and Hepatitis Integrated Training and Learning (VHHITAL)
        • VHHITAL – Education and events copy pack
    • Connecting health with other sectors
      • Doctors in Secondary Schools
        • Apply to Doctors in Secondary Schools: one day out of your everyday
      • Enhancing Mental Health Support in Secondary Schools
    • Health system integration and reform translation
      • Alcohol and other Drug Integration
      • Care Pathways and Referral
        • COVID-19 care pathways
      • Enhancing Carers Supports Within Primary Health Care
      • Mental Health Integration
      • My Health Record Expansion
      • PIP QI Incentive partnership
      • Population Health Planning
      • SafeScript
      • State Emergency and Support Recovery
      • Statewide Specialist Clinic Referral Criteria
        • Statewide Specialist Clinic Referral Criteria – Communications Toolkit
      • The National Disability Insurance Scheme in Victoria and Tasmania
      • Voluntary Assisted Dying
  • News and Education
    • Education and Calendars
    • News
    • Online Learning
  • SafeScript Training
  • Contact
    • Contact us
    • Our PHNs

Infection Prevention Helpline

  • GP Respiratory Clinics
  • Priority Primary Care Centres
  • Victorian HIV and Hepatitis Integrated Training and Learning (VHHITAL)
  • Infection Prevention Helpline
  • Carer Awareness in General Practice
  • Accelerated uptake of Hepatitis C medicines
  • Community led cancer screening
  • Lymphoedema Primary Care Capacity Building
  • Optimal Care Pathways
    • Optimal Care Pathways – Communications Toolkit
  • Optimal Care Pathways – Oesophagogastric Cancer OCP
  • Optimal Care Pathways – Prostate Cancer
  • Place-based Suicide Prevention
  • Statewide Paediatric HealthPathways Project
Home Our Work Best practice, prevention, management and support Infection Prevention Helpline

To access the service, call 1800 312 968 or 03 9956 1046 between 9am – 5pm weekdays, or click here for help.

Advice on infection prevention and control is available free to GPs, community pharmacists, Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisations and nurse practitioner owned or led primary care practices to help them continue to keep their staff and patients safe during COVID-19.

Murray PHN is leading the Victorian Department of Health’s COVID-19 Infection Prevention and Control Program (IPC) pilot, in collaboration with the other five Victorian PHNs.

The service is being delivered by the Australian Primary Health Care Nurses Association (APNA), supported by subject matter experts:

  • Margaret Jennings, microbiologist and MARJEN Education Services infection prevention and control consultant.
  • Megan Reilly, director, Hands-on Infection Control, infection prevention and control management surveillance and systems support.
  • Andrea Minnis, nurse practitioner, Bendigo Wound Management specialist education.

The service aims to:

  • Provide an infection prevention and control advisory service for primary care services wishing to review or upgrade infection control practices – or simply ask a question
  • Help practices reassure patients and their communities of the safety and importance of regular health screening, which is significantly down due to COVID-19
  • Facilitate increased primary care access and keep our health workforce safe.

Some examples of services provided:

  • Guidance with sterilisation processes
  • Strategies for reducing patient wait-times indoors and reducing inside contact
  • Cleaning tips for high-touch areas and washing of scrubs
  • Improvements in infection control processes
  • Infection prevention and vaccinations.

Frequently Asked Questions

Helpline team members will answer questions from callers and include those answers in the FAQ. Over time, as more people call the helpline, the list of FAQs will grow. To access the FAQ click here.



Webinars and resources

Infection prevention information and support for community pharmacies

Infection prevention when spirometry testing

Murray PHN has collaborated with the National Asthma Council to provide the following educational clip which promotes the latest guidelines in relation to infection prevention when spirometry testing. Spirometry testing is not advised if there are community cases and during times of peak COVID risk. Please refer to nationalasthma.org.au for the latest advice.

ACCHO infection prevention advice

Murray PHN worked with the First Nations’ owned production company, Little Rocket, to create a new video that focuses on information and support specifically for Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisations (ACCHOs) to help keep their workforces safe. It outlines everyday actions that staff can take for reception areas, home visits and car travel.

More videos

Infection control videos by Margaret Jennings

For a range of recorded educational webinars and a comprehensive toolbox series click here.

Topics include protocols for administration staff in general practice and pharmacy, alternatives to staff tea rooms, cleaning tips and personal safety checks and measures for staff and patients.

As part of this series, a car cleaning protocol as also been developed. Click here to download.

Videos for all staff 

  • Hand rub 
  • How to get the most out of your surgical mask 
  • Wearing and cleaning your face shield 
  • About air flow 
  • Patients handing paper over 
  • Cleaning high touch surfaces

Videos for clinical staff   

  • Examples of droplet, airborne and contact transmission 
  • Hand rub, gloves and hand care  
  • Full donning and doffing for a high risk situation (where cases are likely) 
  • Correct use of surgical and P2 masks (how are they different) 
  • Contactless opportunities, cleaning and decontamination

APNA infection prevention webinar series

COVID Safe Vaccination Clinics Webinar

This webinar was held on Thursday, 22 July 2021.

Resources

  • Watch the webinar
  • Webinar Q&A with links to further resources
  • Evaluation survey

Top 10 Principles of Environmental Cleaning

This webinar was held on Wednesday, 28 July 2021.

Resources

  • Watch the webinar
  • Webinar overview
  • Slides
  • Q&A document
  • Evaluation survey

Top Tips in the Principles of Sterilisation

This webinar was held on Thursday, 26 August 2021.

Resources

  • Watch the webinar
  • Slides

Top Tips on Understanding the Tier System

This webinar was held on Thursday, 23 September 2021.

Resources

  • Watch the webinar
  • Webinar overview
  • Slides
  • Q&A document
  • Evaluation survey

The Principles of Infection Prevention and Control in Wound Care

This webinar was held on Thursday, 28 October 2021.

Resources

  • Watch the webinar
  • Webinar overview
  • Slides
  • Q&A document
  • Evaluation survey

COVID-19: What Now?

This webinar was held on Wednesday, 8 December 2021.

Resources

  • Watch the webinar
  • Webinar slides
  • Webinar overview
  • Evaluation survey

APNA infection prevention podcasts

Hear about the Infection Prevention Helpline on APNA’s Nursing Australia podcast.

Resources

Online resources

  • Infection prevention control resources – Victorian Department of Health
  • COVID-19 infection control guidelines – Victorian Department of Health
  • COVIDSafe workplaces – Victorian Government
  • Australian Infection Prevention and Control Guidelines – Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care
  • Australian Guidelines for the Prevention and Control of Infection in Healthcare – Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care

Infection prevention and control standards for general practices and other office-based and community-based practices – RACGP

Training resources

Infection Prevention – Spirometry testing – National Asthma Council

Victorian HealthPathways

HealthPathways aims to guide best-practice assessment and management of common medical conditions, including when and where to refer patients, with guidance on what information is needed. It also includes helpful information and advice on other clinical areas of concern such as infection prevention and control. It’s free for health professionals to use. Contact your local HealthPathways team for more information.

HealthPathways Melbourne
HealthPathways Western Victoria
Murray HealthPathways
Gippsland HealthPathways
South Eastern Melbourne Pathways

 

Project Contacts

Murray PHN
Donna Dullard
Infection Prevention and Control Project Coordinator
Ph: 03 4408 5602

Gippsland PHN
Bernadette Heaton-Harris
Coordination Regional Services (Bass Coast/South Gippsland)
Ph: 03 5175 5444

South Eastern Melbourne PHN
Campbell Rule
Manager – Provider Support
Ph: 1300 331 981

Eastern Melbourne PHN
Kathy Tepper
Lead – Sector Capacity and Workforce
Ph: 03 9046 0300

Western Victoria PHN
Clair McDonald
Senior Manager Wimmera Grampians
Ph: 03 4310 5105

North Western Melbourne PHN
Christine Ferlazzo
Project Manager, Vaccine Preventable Conditions
Ph: 03 9347 1188

Copyright 2022 Victorian and Tasmanian PHN Alliance
  • About us
    • About the Alliance
    • Collaboration
    • Leadership
    • PHN Publications
    • Thought Leadership
  • Our Work
    • Best practice, prevention, management and support
      • Accelerated uptake of Hepatitis C medicines
      • Carer Awareness in General Practice
      • Community led cancer screening
      • GP Respiratory Clinics
      • Infection Prevention Helpline
      • Lymphoedema Primary Care Capacity Building
      • Optimal Care Pathways
        • Optimal Care Pathways – Oesophagogastric Cancer OCP
        • Optimal Care Pathways – Prostate Cancer
      • Place-based Suicide Prevention
      • Priority Primary Care Centres
      • Statewide Paediatric HealthPathways Project
      • Victorian HIV and Hepatitis Integrated Training and Learning (VHHITAL)
        • VHHITAL – Education and events copy pack
    • Connecting health with other sectors
      • Doctors in Secondary Schools
        • Apply to Doctors in Secondary Schools: one day out of your everyday
      • Enhancing Mental Health Support in Secondary Schools
    • Health system integration and reform translation
      • Alcohol and other Drug Integration
      • Care Pathways and Referral
        • COVID-19 care pathways
      • Enhancing Carers Supports Within Primary Health Care
      • Mental Health Integration
      • My Health Record Expansion
      • PIP QI Incentive partnership
      • Population Health Planning
      • SafeScript
      • State Emergency and Support Recovery
      • Statewide Specialist Clinic Referral Criteria
        • Statewide Specialist Clinic Referral Criteria – Communications Toolkit
      • The National Disability Insurance Scheme in Victoria and Tasmania
      • Voluntary Assisted Dying
  • News and Education
    • Education and Calendars
    • News
    • Online Learning
  • SafeScript Training
  • Contact
    • Contact us
    • Our PHNs
VTPHNA