Infection control for hospital cleaners

Where the infection risks are

• High-touch surfaces around the bed: rails, call bells, over-bed tables
• Isolation rooms for patients with known or suspected infections
• Blood and body fluid spills, and sharps in waste
• Shared patient equipment moving between rooms

The habits that matter most

• Follow the precautions sign on every isolation room door
• Work clean to dirty and high to low, with colour-coded equipment
• Leave disinfectant wet for its full contact time
• Clean your hands every time you remove gloves
• Report damaged surfaces and mattress covers that can't be cleaned

Rules and expectations

Hospitals clean to the NHMRC Australian Guidelines for the Prevention and Control of Infection in Healthcare and their own environmental cleaning procedures, which name the products, frequencies and checklists for each area. This course explains the principles behind those procedures; your hospital trains you on its own.

What the course covers

Eight core modules — how infections spread, hand hygiene, PPE, respiratory hygiene, cleaning and disinfection, blood and body fluid spills, waste, linen and sharps, and precautions and outbreaks — plus a module written for your sector. Then a 20-question assessment and your certificate.