HISWA mandatory reporting program

In 2007, the Director General of Health endorsed the recommendation of the Healthcare Associated Infection Council of WA (HICWA) that collection of key healthcare associated infection rates will be mandatory. This program encompasses all public hospitals and licensed private healthcare facilities providing services for public patients in Western Australia. The mandatory reporting program is reviewed annually by HICWA and where appropriate, changes are implemented based on local and national programs as well as feedback from participating facilities.

The goals of the program are to

• reflect the importance of HAIs within the WA clinical governance framework,
• help inform system-level priority setting,
• evaluate prevention programs in WA

The 2009/2010 healthcare associated infection mandatory indicators are