The Plot... Have We Lost It? Designing Infection Prevention into the Healthcare Built Environment
| Thursday, August 27, 2026 |
| 3:10 PM - 3:35 PM |
| Tāwhirimātea 1 |
Overview
Julie White and SiewLing Ong
Speaker
Julie White
CNS IPC
Waitaha Canterbury
The Plot... Have We Lost It? Designing Infection Prevention into the Healthcare Built Environment
Abstract
Background:
Healthcare design, construction, renovation, and maintenance activities can significantly impact on infection risks within healthcare settings. Recent revisions to the Australasian Health Facility Guidelines (AusHFG) Part D reflect contemporary evidence and strengthen the integration of Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) principles into healthcare infrastructure planning and delivery.
Aim:
To examine how contemporary changes to AusHFG Part D support safer healthcare environments and explore how Health New Zealand Infrastructure and Investment Group (IIG) Project Managers and IPC practitioners can collaborate to achieve infection prevention objectives while balancing operational and financial constraints.
Methods:
This presentation highlights the value of early IPC engagement, multidisciplinary collaboration, and formal risk assessment processes throughout a project lifecycle. Working alongside IIG Project Managers, designers, engineers, contractors, and clinical stakeholders, IPC add value by identifying risks and providing practical mitigation strategies.
Results:
Collaborative partnerships between IIG Project Managers, Maintenance and IPC practitioners enable evidence-based decision-making, ensuring construction, renovation, and maintenance activities are managed safely while balancing budget, programme, and operational requirements. Structured risk assessment supported by pragmatic solutions, ensures patient safety is maintained without compromising project feasibility.
Conclusion:
Early and ongoing collaboration between IIG Project Managers, Engineers and IPC practitioners enables infection prevention principles to be designed into healthcare facilities, creating safer, more resilient, and sustainable healthcare environments.
Healthcare design, construction, renovation, and maintenance activities can significantly impact on infection risks within healthcare settings. Recent revisions to the Australasian Health Facility Guidelines (AusHFG) Part D reflect contemporary evidence and strengthen the integration of Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) principles into healthcare infrastructure planning and delivery.
Aim:
To examine how contemporary changes to AusHFG Part D support safer healthcare environments and explore how Health New Zealand Infrastructure and Investment Group (IIG) Project Managers and IPC practitioners can collaborate to achieve infection prevention objectives while balancing operational and financial constraints.
Methods:
This presentation highlights the value of early IPC engagement, multidisciplinary collaboration, and formal risk assessment processes throughout a project lifecycle. Working alongside IIG Project Managers, designers, engineers, contractors, and clinical stakeholders, IPC add value by identifying risks and providing practical mitigation strategies.
Results:
Collaborative partnerships between IIG Project Managers, Maintenance and IPC practitioners enable evidence-based decision-making, ensuring construction, renovation, and maintenance activities are managed safely while balancing budget, programme, and operational requirements. Structured risk assessment supported by pragmatic solutions, ensures patient safety is maintained without compromising project feasibility.
Conclusion:
Early and ongoing collaboration between IIG Project Managers, Engineers and IPC practitioners enables infection prevention principles to be designed into healthcare facilities, creating safer, more resilient, and sustainable healthcare environments.
Biography
Julie White is a Clinical Nurse Specialist for Infection Prevention and Control Waitaha Canterbury and has been in this role for nearly 20 yrs .
She holds the role of IPC Senior Lead for the Built Environment for the Canterbury and West Coast and represented NZ on the review of Aus HFG Part D in 2024. She continues to have an active role in reviewing Health Planning Units documents on request. She is currently serving as co-chair on the National IPC Built Environment Working Group.
She understands the value in creating collaborative relationships founded on trust with project teams in healthcare design to ensure the IPC voice is heard and that IPC principles are incorporated into design. Her strength is bringing a pragmatic approach to key competing stakeholder priorities to maximise best outcomes in the built environment.
She holds a strong belief that facilities should be adaptable and future proofed whilst advocating for the needs of consumers and staff.
Siew Ling is a Clinical Nurse Specialist for Infection Prevention and Control at Health NZ Waikato and has been in this role for 18 years.
Siew Ling is involved in new build and renovations and maintenance constructions.
One major project at Waikato is the Mental Health & Addiction Services (MH&AS) Adult Acute Inpatient Facility (AAIF). This has a projected $100 million budget and she was involved in the planning from its inception in 2021. Projected completion and handover is in December 2026.
She is strongly invested in creating pragmatic collaborative relationships with all involved in the project work. The end goal is that that the project is built to approved standards and future proofed.
At Waikato, she developed and implemented guidelines and processes for construction and renovation to provide clarity and guidance on pathways to achieve successful outcomes in the built environment.
