Guide to Effective Hand Washing in Healthcare and Community Services

Question 1.2
What is the job role that you are detailing and the policy you have chosen for an in-depth review?
How is that policy relevant to the work responsibilities the job role detailed?
Question 1.3
For the policy of your in-depth review, outline a situation that could occur if the related procedures were not performed correctly or if there was another type of failure scenario related to the policy. What could be the consequences of a policy breach? Should such an incident be reported? How?
Task 2
Task 2.1
Effectively washing hands is a most important consideration for those working in a healthcare and community services workplaces, it is also relevant information for the general public in maintaining good health. For this task you are required to produce a guide, brochure or poster that relates to how to effectively wash hands. Your document needs to be designed to:
•    Be useful to healthcare and community services staff and also the general public
•    Be written in simple English so that it can be easily read and understood
•    Be supported by images and/or links to videos that demonstrate effective hand washing.
Task 2.2
There are a number of means by which you could circulate your hand hygiene document. Consider a communication platform that may be in use in the community or health services and explain how you would circulate (and possibly revise) your document for distribution via digital media (such as website or intranet, social media, podcast or video channel etc.) Are these any organisation policies that may need to be considered in the process of publishing the digital communication?
Task 3
Locate a copy of the role or position description (PD) for your current work role or look for a position description for a healthcare or community services work role that you are interested in. Upload a copy of the position description with this assignment. You may be able to find a relevant position description:
•    By asking your manager, supervisor, administration or Human Resources office
•    On the website of a State Health Department or other health or community services
•    By performing a job search for the role and finding an advertisement with PD
•    By contacting a health or community service where the role exists and requesting a copy
•    On the website, or by contacting, a relevant professional association for the job.
Question 3.1
Does the PD include information that details the industry and related award for the role?
Where else could you go to find relevant information for industry standards and award rates?
Question 3.2
List one of the responsibilities of the role detailed in the PD that would have legislative requirements or accreditation standards that apply. Provide a link to the standards and/or detail what they are.
Question 3.3
What other healthcare professionals would this work role cooperate with in performing the job responsibilities? Would this include dealing with different levels and sectors of the health industry?
Question 3.4
What type of issues could be encountered in performing the duties of this work role? What would you do if you identified an area of improvement with how the organisation handled a certain issue?
Question 3.5

What type of personal skill maintenance or development would be relevant to continuing in this work role? Where would you access information or advice on how to set goals and plan for skill and knowledge development in the role? How should future work goals be focussed?

Question 1.2

Please carefully read through each question. Use terms and jargon that have been presented within this Unit. Refer to your online notes, if needed. Please write a minimum of 50 words for each response, more can be written as required – but keep under 300 words. This is to enable you to fully demonstrate your research and knowledge in this area. 

This assignment is versatile to suit students who are currently employed in a healthcare workplace and also students who may not be currently employed.  Where possible, request access to the current policy and procedure documents that are in place at your workplace or education institution. These may be available via the website for your organisation, an intranet site for employees only or in paper versions stored by administration staff. You can ask your manager, supervisor or colleagues to assist with accessing these documents.

If these documents are not available to you, you can search online for equivalent documents from:

• Your State Health Department

• Local Hospital or other healthcare service

• Other government departments and community services. 

For example, Queensland Health has a section for Health systems & governance in the footer of their website (http://www.health.qld.gov.au ), in that section there is a link to Policies and standards.

From here there is information on the types of policy documents in the organisation and access to an alphabetical list of all organisational policies and related supporting documents.

Under take a review of the policies and procedures that you can find for:

• Confidentiality, clinical records management, personal information or privacy

• Infection control and/or Personal Protective Equipment

• Emergency procedures, Fire safety or Security

• Child protection and/or Parental consent.

Where did you source the policy and procedures that you accessed for your review?

If possible, provide a link to where these documents are published on the Internet or upload a copy as a separate file with this assignment. Detail how you searched for and found these documents.

I reviewed the health policies and procedures of Victoria via internet. While searching for the required documents and policies, I used specific key words like child-protection AND Victoria Victoria’s Child Protection AND government policy. This brought all the policies and procedures that were most relevant and I got ideas and points which I needed. From the many options brought, I selected the one I needed.

Child protection is the policy for my in-depth review.

Select one of these policies for an in-depth review; where possible choose a policy that is relevant to your current work responsibilities. Alternatively you can imagine a future job role and select a policy that you believe would be relevant to the work responsibilities of that role.

What is the job role that you are detailing and the policy you have chosen for an in-depth review?

How is that policy relevant to the work responsibilities the job role detailed?

For the policy of your in-depth review, outline a situation that could occur if the related procedures were not performed correctly.