Audit, Surveillance and Risk Management as processes to control and prevent the covid-19 spread Audit
Surveillance
Monitoring is the systematic collection of data to track the occurrence of diseases (Han et al., 2019). Its primary objective is to evaluate data and distribute findings in order to detect outbreaks and direct IPC interventions. It might be utilized in the clinical auditing process, and “Hospital Acquired Infections” (HAIs) could be used as a performance improvement outcome indicator. The requirement for appropriate steps to be performed for identified high-risk groups, as well as swift responses to handle health crises, is assessed using visual information. Some examples include contact tracing and improved laboratory testing to identify high-risk groups, as well as asymptomatic transmitters for early notification and diagnosis (Ibrahim, 2020). Separation and care are required to prevent the sickness from spreading.
Risk management
Following the identification and prioritization of infection hazards, a risk management plan is implemented to prevent infection-related harm. Patient care, the environment, equipment, and other readily available resources, as well as technical and social shortcomings, are all potential risks. The four steps of the risk management framework are risk assessment, management, communications, and monitoring.
Risk assessment
In IPC, assessment is used to identify potential hazards and common practice gaps, and to classify, quantify, and document them. Inadequate triage areas, single rooms, PPE, and ventilators are some of them, while noncompliance with applications and policy are others.
Risk Management
Management is performed by planning and agreeing on the essential execution procedures. Redesigning ILI segregation zones, cohorting patients with the same COVID-19 diagnosis in a separate part, enhancing ventilation, finding N95 standard replacement masks, hand and respiration hygiene monitoring rounds, and PPE fitting techniques are just a few examples.
Risk communication
Informing health-care professionals about the administration of measures is part of communication. For example, communication on new rules and policies, education and assistance on SPs and TBPs, and the use of PPE is sent to employees on a periodic manner, and feedback is sought. The group’s website, institutional bulletin, and personnel forums are all used to send out updates on a regular basis.
Risk monitoring
It requires a continuous cycle of effects monitoring and assessment, as well as supervisory activities. Lessons from past mistakes can be used to future professional practice to reduce the risk of relapse and spread.
Recommendations to control the covid-19 spread
Healthcare workers training
Standard precautions paired with transmission-based precautions are the most important infection, prevention, and control (IPC) methods in providing proper care for covid-19 patients in the clinical environment (WHO, 2020). Clinical healthcare personnel, on the other hand, will need enough skills and expertise to apply the SPs and TBPs. Because covid-19 is a new virus, there hasn’t been enough training for health care providers on how to deal with it. As a result, this study proposes that healthcare professionals receive proper and extensive training on how to treat covid-19 patients in order to reduce the incidence of dissemination. Clinical staff are also advised to adhere to government and hospital authority rules on how to treat the pandemic at all times, since their compliance is vital.
Public awareness
The prevention of covid-19 is an individual responsibility, according to Giritli et al., (2020). Individual compliance is essential for minimizing transmission rates and maintaining everyone’s safety. Coordination and teamwork are essential because this is a worldwide epidemic. The rapid transmission rate of covid-19, according to Sridhar et al. (2021), contributes to the virus’s fast mutation rates, making it more difficult to resist. If everyone takes responsibility for their own health and ensures that they are safe, the infection will be reduced more quickly. This guarantees that normal processes such as masking, social distancing, and so on are followed. However, due to widespread non-compliance with basic precautions, it is difficult to break the infection’s transmission cycle. This research advises that the public be made aware of the virus, its harmful effects, and statistics on mortality causes, and methods for individual protection be implemented. As a result, each member will assume greater responsibility, increasing the chances of breaking the transmission chain.
Scientific evidence