impressive

That was the word used by one of my supervisors as his first impression of my evaluation report on the Healthcare Infection Surveillance of Western Australia (HISWA). One of my chapters for my thesis is now done (woot!) and will just need a lot of editing.

Did you know that when you attend a healthcare facility here in WA, you are covered by this mandatory surveillance system which monitors the number and trends of healthcare-associated infections? Did you also know that WA has mandatory screening for MRSA if you have attended a healthcare facility in another state/country in the 12 months prior to your visit?

Whilst there's a lot to be said about the administration and financial capabilities of our healthcare system, I truly believe that we are in a lucky country. Not only do we have (mostly) affordable healthcare, but the majority of the country has access to it 24/7, and the risks associated with attending a healthcare facility and obtaining an infection from the treatment received are very low.

I'm not making any statements about politics and healthcare, so don't read it as that. What I am saying is that we have a high standard of quality in healthcare, not only with nurses and doctors, but with infection prevention and control, laboratory capabilities, allied heath professionals etc.

Now that my HISWA section is over, I move to writing about Clostridium difficile in aged care facilities. I think it'll be rather shitty...