When an infectious agent is suspected or identified in the residential aged care facility, residents may be required to isolate in individual rooms and/or zones. Employees should be notified and given clear instructions about management if isolation is required. Compliance with instructions is essential to protect residents, employees, and visitors.

Essential information 

Inform the cleaning employees of the following

Clear identification of affected rooms and zones

Clear instructions on the use of which transmission-based precautions, (routinely use standard precautions)

Clear instructions on PPE to be used

Clear instructions on special cleaning requirements, including methods and frequency

Principals of cleaning isolation rooms

Hand hygiene is required to prevent the spread of infection. The use of gloves never replaces the requirement to perform hand hygiene

Hand hygiene is to be performed before entering a room and applying PPE and after exiting the room and removing PPE

Wear PPE as required - use the correct donning and doffing sequence

Except for masks, discard PPE before leaving the room

Discard masks after leaving the room

Follow guidelines for the disposal of clinical waste.

Use yellow colour-coded equipment when undertaking infectious cleaning

Use 2-step cleaning

Minimise the number of consumables and items taken into the room

Use dedicated resident equipment where possible.  If not possible, all shared equipment should be cleaned using a 2-step cleaning method after use in the affected rooms and zones

Avoid the use of soft furnishings in isolation rooms and or zones

The frequency of room cleaning will depend on the risk of the infectious organism, with a minimum of once daily cleaning

Frequently touched surfaces include horizontal surfaces, ledges, beds, bedside tables, bedrails, nurse call buzzers, doorknobs, trolleys, sinks, and electronic devices, and require daily cleaning, or, more frequently if necessary 

End of isolation cleaning Healthcare workers' responsibilities 

Wear PPE as required - use the correct donning and doffing sequence

Notify staff that an end-of-isolation cleaning is required and that waste and linen will need to be removed

When infectious, use yellow colour-coded equipment

Use 2-step cleaning as instructed

Strip the bed(s) and place linen in the linen skip. Follow colour coding and segregation as per laundry guidelines

Clean the mattress with a 2-step clean

Follow waste and clinical waste guidelines for disposable waste items

Discard all unused disposable consumables within the room

Clean all reusable clinical equipment within the room using a 2-step clean before returning it to general storage

Cleaning employees' responsibilities

Physical cleaning of the isolation rooms and zones should commence when isolation requirements are no longer required.