Between September and December 2020 the Department of Health conducted 44 audits of health services to review the implementation of COVIDSafe plans.
All major, large regional and sub-regional health services along with a selection of small regional and local health services, specialist hospitals, large private providers and independent hospitals were audited.
The two-part audit included a self-assessment and an onsite visit by either Safer Care Victoria (SCV) or Infection Prevention Control Advice and Response (IPCAR).
Auditors from both SCV and IPCAR reported a strong commitment by health services to staff safety and no significant risks or issues were identified within any individual health service. The number of health services and scope of categories audited shows health services are taking their coronavirus (COVID-19) infection prevention and control responsibilities seriously and protecting their workers. Additionally, since the completion of the audits, all health services have established respiratory protection programs (RPP) and many have commenced the fit testing of respiratory protective equipment (RPE) for health care workers.
The audits’ findings are outlined in:
An executive summary providing an overview of both audit phases and a checklist to assist health services make improvements to their COVIDSafe plans:
In publishing the findings, we aim to ensure lessons learned from the audits are adopted by Victorian health services, and examples of good practice are highlighted and shared widely.
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