Preventing Infection

Infection and Hygiene

At Orange Sky we have some basic rules to keep ourselves, our friends and our remote residents safe from infection and disease.

Standard Precautions

Standard precautions are key actions to minimise the transmission of infection and are to be used on all shifts. Standard precautions involve:

Training

If you are an Orange Sky volunteer or employee you must complete all required induction and training on how to practice good hygiene and prevent infection. This induction includes the information in this portal.

Hand Hygiene

Keeping your hands clean is about the most important measure to prevent infection. Avoid touching contaminated clothing/surfaces or coughing, sneezing, rubbing eyes etc. Wash and dry hands regularly with soap and running water or use hand sanitiser if handwashing is not possible.

Gloves

Gloves are to be worn when handling washing or cleaning surfaces, including showers. Take care to prevent cross infection, e.g. don’t clean the shower then handle clean washing without changing gloves. Be careful to avoid contaminating your hands when removing gloves

Being Sick

If you are sick please stay home. If you do cough or sneeze on shift please be respectful of the health of others and cover your mouth/nose. Cough or sneeze into a tissue or your sleeve. Practice good hand hygiene.

Cleaning

We have clear cleaning processes and our cleaning products on shift have been chosen for their ease of use, safety and compatibility. Please don't bring cleaning products from home, mixing chemical products can be harmful. Remember to wear gloves when using cleaning product.

Clothes Washing

Special Orange Sky detergent includes a sanitiser to manage the risk of contamination between washes and is automatically added to each wash. You can view the Safety Data Sheet here. Because of the way our washing machines are set up another detergent cannot be used so sadly we cannot allow personal detergent or the addition of fabric softeners.

Finding a Syringe or Other Sharp

Capped and uncapped syringes, glass, razors etc. are all common sharps found on our shifts. They can be on the ground, facilities nearby, in washing or our showers.

If you find a used needle or syringe, please follow these steps.

1. Do not try to put a cap on it.

2. Find the sharps container.

3. Put on disposable gloves.

4. Put the container on the ground beside the needle / syringe.

5. Pick up the needle / syringe by the middle of the barrel.

6. Keep the sharp end of the needle / syringe facing away from you at all times.

7. Put the needle / syringe in the container sharp end first.

8. Put any other items that have come into contact with blood in the same container.

9. Hold the container at the top and put on the lid.

10. Take off the gloves and wash your hands with running water and soap.

11. Do not over fill sharps containers (i.e. do not fill above the fill line), you should be able to just drop a syringe etc in there without having to push it in. Take a participating pharmacy, hospital or council location for disposal when full.

Follow the above process for other potentially infectious sharps such as razors

Keep sharps containers in a secure place in the van or pod (e.g. Where to store sharps container?

Replace sharps containers when contents reach the line. Take to a participating chemist, council depot or hospital for disposal. Contact Service Support for replacement containers.

How to Reduce the Risk of Sharps Injuries

Potentially infectious sharps are regularly found on shift; on the ground, in washing and in the washer/dryer.

Ways to help prevent sharps injuries:

• Wear gloves when handling washing or picking up waste

• Dump bags of washing onto the floor or into baskets then load individual items into the machine

• Pick up individual items of washing and handle with a light grip (don’t squeeze washing or try and grip larger bundles of washing)

• Check with friends that they have emptied pockets, e.g.

  • We don't want any of your belongings to be damaged, are your pockets empty?

  • Have you checked your pockets for tissues, coins, or cigarettes?

• Watch where you put your hands

• Wear closed in footwear on shift

Treatment of Needle-Stick / Sharps Injuries

If you receive an injury from a needle, syringe or other potentially contaminated sharp follow these steps.

• Stay calm.

• Encourage the wound to bleed (gently squeeze it).

• Wash the area with cold running water and soap.

• Apply antiseptic and a Band-Aid.

• Contact your local doctor.

• For information about testing, counselling and immunisation please call:

  • your doctor

  • local Hospital

  • a sexual health clinic

  • a community health centre.

There are currently no published reports of any member of the public contracting HIV, Hepatitis C or Hepatitis B infection after injury from a used needle in Australia. This is because HIV and Hepatitis B and C viruses do not survive for long outside the body.

Managing Infectious Conditions

At times our friends or remote residents may be dealing with some infectious conditions. This is one of the reasons we require gloves when handling washing.

This section outlines how to deal with some some common conditions/diseases.

Open Sores

Sometimes our friends or remote residents may have open sores or other wounds. We recognise cleanliness is so important to preventing infection and helping them heal. To do this safely:

• Practice our Standard Precautions

• Consider letting a friend with a significant wound or sore use the last shower of the shift

• Clean the shower after their use

• Wash towels and mats as per usual (some of our services use a commercial service for this)

• If towels or mats are too soiled we encourage you to dispose of them in the rubbish instead of washing

• Although we don’t provide medical assistance it is ok to give a dressing to a friend after a shower

Faeces (Code Brown)

If someone defecates (poos) in the shower during an Orange Sky shift, here are the steps to follow:

• Close the shower and don’t let anyone else use it.

• Do not clean it up. Volunteers are not to handle faeces or clean up such incidents.

• Contact Service Support immediately. They will provide guidance and help organise professional cleaning services.

If the washing machine is contaminated with faeces:

• Run another wash if the contamination is minor without obvious lumps/solids.

• Contact Service Support immediately if contamination is significant . They will provide guidance and help organise professional cleaning services.