Healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) are one of the most common causes of unintended harm suffered by health consumers. These infections cause the patient unnecessary pain and suffering and utilise significant human and financial resources within healthcare systems. It is increasingly recognised that HAIs are preventable adverse events rather than an inevitable complication of medical care. Establishment of baseline HAI rates and ensuring ongoing monitoring is essential to measure the effectiveness of infection prevention strategies that are implemented to reduce the occurrence of HAIs.
Healthcare Infection Surveillance Program
contributing data to the Healthcare Infection Surveillance WA (HISWA) program in 2005. The introduction of mandatory indicators for all public HCFs and private HCFs contracted to provide care for public patients commenced in 2007. Private HCFs continue to contribute data to HISWA voluntarily. Refer to the HISWA Surveillance Manual for further information.
The HISWA program is managed by the Infection Prevention, Policy & Surveillance Unit (IPPSU) within the Public and Aboriginal Health Division of WA Health.
Validation of data
HISWA serves to enhance the value of surveillance by providing high quality comparative data. For comparisons to be valid the data collection methods used by participating hospitals must be similar and definitions of infection consistently applied. Participation in HISWA requires active, prospective surveillance which is patient-based.
Reports
Feedback of analysed data in a timely manner to key stakeholders is an important requirement of surveillance programs to drive change and improve outcomes. It has been demonstrated to be effective in reducing infections when provided to clinicians. Aggregation of data allows for system-wide priority setting, evaluation and benchmarking. Infection rates are risk-adjusted where possible to reflect differences in clinical case-mix between participating hospitals. The IPPSU produces a variety HISWA reports including statewide aggregated data and individual hospital reports. The IPPSU is also responsible for providing data for:
- WA Health Service Performance Reports (HSPR)
- WA Safety and Quality Indicator Set (SQuIS)
- Office of the Auditor General
- National Hand Hygiene Initiative
- Commonwealth Healthcare Agreements requirements - SABSI for MyHospitals
- Return on Government Service – SABSI
- Australian New Zealand Intensive Care Society – CLABSI.
Refer to the HISWA Surveillance Manual (Module 1) for information on data analysis and interpretation of reports
Quarterly aggregate reports
Other reports
Reports are available for up to 12 months after publication on this webpage. If you would like a copy of an older report, please email IPPSU.
Tools and resources provision
Last reviewed: 01-08-2024
Produced by
Public Health