Hello everyone and welcome to the Hunter New England OASV webinar.
Okay, so what is the OASV policy? OAS stands for the Occupational Assessment of Screening and Vaccination, and it is the New South Wales Health policy that determines the minimum vaccination requirements for all workers. So this includes not only healthcare staff like doctors and nurses but all employees who help to keep our healthcare system running, such as administration officers and hospital assistants. These immunisation and screening requirements are based on recommendations from the World Health Organisation as well as the Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunization (ATAGI). So many countries have similar vaccination and screening requirements for healthcare staff, although there may be slight differences just due to the differing needs of populations.
So why is this important? As we know, some jobs have a much higher risk of exposure to infectious diseases. As your employer, Hunter New England Health has a responsibility to keep you safe in the workplace, and ensuring adequate immunisation and screening is one way to do that. OASV clearance will be given through the District OASV team, which is a small team comprised of experienced nurse immunisers who have been trained in the interpretation of the New South Wales Health policy directive.
This form may be familiar to you as it will have been included as part of your OASV package. If you have not seen this form before or don't have the OASV package, please reach out to the contact person for your recruitment. So the immunisation and screening evidence checklist is a reference tool to help you know what vaccinations, blood tests, and screenings you will be required to provide for OASV clearance. OASV clearance is a mandatory requirement to work with the Hunter New England Local Health District. Please be aware that this is only a guide for what is required; it is not an official record of vaccination nor can it be used as evidence. We recommend you review this carefully and if you do not have these vaccination and screening records, take this along to your GP or occupational or staff health nurse for assistance.
Okay, so first, we are going to start with the DTPA vaccine, which stands for Diphtheria, Tetanus, and Pertussis (Acellular). This is commonly referred to as Boostrix or Adacel. This vaccine is required every 10 years, so we will require a dose that has been received within the last 10 years. Please do not confuse this with a normal tetanus booster that you would receive if you had a wound, or with the Diphtheria, Tetanus, Polio, or the Adult Diphtheria, Tetanus. There are several vaccines available worldwide that include tetanus and diphtheria within them, but we specifically require the DTPA with the pertussis component. Pertussis is not available as a standalone vaccine, so this would be the vaccine we require. If you have any issues accessing a DTPA vaccine, please let us know.
Okay so you will also be required to show evidence of hepatitis B vaccination. This can be either through records of a complete vaccination course, which for an adult is three doses, or a hepatitis B vaccination declaration, which can be obtained through your OASV assessor. If you do not have any previous history of hepatitis B vaccination, please have your first dose now. We will also be required to see in addition to the hepatitis B vaccination evidence, a record of hepatitis B surface antibody testing. So this test result is required in addition to vaccination evidence or the hepatitis B vaccination declaration.
Okay no moving on to measles, mumps, and rubella, evidence of immunity will be required. This can be through two doses of MMR vaccine or providing serology results showing immunity to all three viruses. Please note if you have been fully vaccinated, you do not need serology taken nor do you need to provide that evidence to us. Also, if you were born before 1966, you are considered to have natural immunity and do not need to provide any further evidence. If you do have measles, mumps, and rubella serology taken and any results are negative or low positive, further MMR vaccines will be required. In this case, please have one dose of MMR vaccine immediately and then consult with your OASV assessor as to whether another dose will be required.
Now moving on to varicella or (commonly known as chickenpox), so immunity of Varicella can be evidenced through either vaccinations or serology. If you do not have evidence of two varicella vaccinations and you recall having chickenpox as a child, please request varicella IgG serology through your GP. If you have not previously been vaccinated or your IgG is negative, you will be required to show two doses of varicella vaccination. Written evidence declaring previous chickenpox illness cannot be accepted unless it is listed on the Australian Immunisation Register, which would have to be entered by an Australian GP.
Okay and next we will move onto Influenza vaccinations which are required each year between June 1st and September 30th, which is Australia's peak flu season. It is likely you will not be able to access a southern hemisphere flu vaccine if you are currently in the northern hemisphere, so this can be provided on site when you start work. You will also be required to show evidence of a primary course of COVID-19 vaccination, this is usually two doses and is the minimum requirement for all staff. We prefer if the records or evidence can show individual doses with individual dates and batch numbers; however, EU COVID-19 passports will also be accepted.
Okay, so four forms will be required in addition to your immunization and serology results: this is the tuberculosis screening tool, the undertaking declaration form, the staff health registration form, and the latex screening tool. All these forms can be completed electronically through Adobe, you will have instructions inside your OASV package on how to do that. And if you do complete them electronically, ensure the answers and the signature are saved properly. If you have any difficulty completing electronically, we are happy to accept scanned copies that have been completed by hand. We just also ask that you try to send in the documents as PDF attachments and not as photos or documents embedded in the body of the email.
Okay now I’m just going to run through the TB assessment tool. So the purpose of the TB assessment tool is to determine previous TB infection, risk of TB infection, or increased susceptibility to infection if exposed to TB. There are three parts to this form and each must be completed in full. There are certain situations, which we will have to refer you to TB Services here in Hunter New England. If this occurs, it will be provided free of charge to you and likely involve a consultation or communication through emails with a clinician from the TB Services Clinic. Please ensure you complete all applicable personal details; some will not be relevant or available to you at the moment and can be left blank. The most important is that the form is signed and dated.
Part A of the form assesses the likelihood of current active TB infection. So this is relevant for those with no history of TB infection and those with a diagnosis of latent TB. Please tick yes to any symptoms you have had which have not already been attributed to a current diagnosis given by a doctor.
Okay, so Part B. Part B is to determine if you have a previous diagnosis of TB, or have had treatment for TB, or have a medical condition that makes you more susceptible to acquiring TB. So if you have been diagnosed with TB previously, please include all your test results, chest x-ray reports, and any correspondence from TB clinics when you send through your OASV evidence.
What we will do is consult with our local TB Services, who will either request an updated chest x-ray or who may give clearance based on the evidence provided. Also, if you have a condition affecting your immune system or if you are on medications or treatments which impact your immune system, please declare this and provide brief details
So, moving onto Part C. Part C determines your previous exposure risk to TB. So if your country of birth is on the World Health Organisation's list of high-risk countries, then an IGRA test will be required. So this test must have been taken either after you left the country of high risk or within three months of your departure. You will also need to declare all of your high-risk travel to high-risk countries. If you have travelled for 12 weeks or more in countries of high-risk, an IGRA test will be requested from after you have reached 12 weeks of cumulative travel. So, if for example, if you have travelled through multiple high-risk countries over the past five years and those occasions of travel all adds up to 9 weeks and 3 days, we would not require evidence of TB testing. However, if it added up to 12 weeks or more than 12 weeks, we would request evidence of TB testing. And just to explain TB testing, a chest x-ray on its own is not accepted as evidence of TB clearance or in lieu of a TB test, as this does not determine if you have latent TB. So if you have a chest x-ray report stating clearance from TB but do not have pathology testing report for TB, you will still be asked to provide the result of an IGRA pathology test. So an IGRA pathology test is commonly called a QFG or Quantiferon Gold and just so you know Tuberculin skin tests, still commonly used around the world, cannot be accepted if read outside of Australia. So if you are required for TB testing, please ask for an IGRA or QFG test.
Okay, so the undertaking declaration form purpose is basically your agreement to abide by the NSW Health OASV policy, so that includes any ongoing vaccination and screening requirements. And it is also your consent to the OASV assessment process as part of your employment requirements. If you are given temporary compliance with the OASV policy, this also forms your agreement to have the required vaccinations or testing within the stipulated timeframe. As with all forms, please ensure you sign and date the bottom, this is very important.
Okay, so the purpose of this form is to screen healthcare workers for an increased risk of development of latex allergy or latex allergy diagnosis. So, please complete this by circling the appropriate responses up the right-hand side. A score of three or more will require latex IgE testing. If you score three or more, staff health will be informed and they will manage any workplace requirements. The only other thing to remember is to please sign and date the bottom next to the healthcare worker section.
Okay, so the staff health registration form, this is used to update your personal details in your staff health medical file. Please complete this in full by indicating the appropriate responses. You likely will not have a Medicare number yet, so this section at the bottom can be left blank and any other areas which don’t apply to you or you don’t know can be leave blank, that’s fine. When you do start working, technically you should complete this again and update this full staff health with your local Australian address and phone number.
Um, so if you do come into contact with staff health, please re-complete this form for them.
Okay, so what can you provide as immunisation and screening evidence? So, any government or health agency-issued vaccination record, that’s including COVID-19 international certificates and EU passports, are fine. Records from medical practitioners in the form of printed transcripts, they’re accepted, providing all details and dates of vaccinations or serology are listed. We can also accept handwritten records from baby books or childhood vaccination books, provided the records are legible, signed, and dated, and have clear identifiers on each page, including your name and date of birth. Also, any transcripts from previous employers, such as from an occupational health department, is great.
If you do have any records that are not in English, please send them through to the District OSAV team for review. And provided that they are clear and can be interpreted easily, they may be accepted, but this will be determined on a case-by-case basis. And basically I would just say if you're not sure, send it through for a review, and we will let you know whether or not it can be accepted.
Also, if you are refused any of the vaccinations or serology testing that we have gone through today, please let the OASV assessor know, um we will try to encounter a solution with you and there are options that we can talk through with you if that is the case.
Okay, so now that we have given you all this information, you may be thinking, "Okay, where do I start? What do I do now?" So I would recommend that you start by collating all your vaccination and serology evidence. So have a look at the immunisation and screening evidence checklist and start to tick off what requirements you meet with the evidence that you have. So you may need to reach out to your GP or healthcare provider, previous healthcare providers, or previous places of work to request transcripts of any previous vaccinations or serology, or you may need to make appointments with your GP or occupational health nurse to get some assistance.
Then, please send this evidence to the designated recruitment email address provided. This evidence will be reviewed by the district OASV team assessors. If there is any outstanding evidence required, you will receive an email directly from the district OASV team. We ask that you respond directly to those emails if you receive one. Then please send this evidence to the designated recruitment email address provided and then this evidence will be reviewed by the Districts OASV assessors. So if there is any outstanding evidence required, you will receive an email directly from the OASV team, so we do just ask that you respond directly to those emails if you do receive one.
So, that is all we have to cover today. I would like to thank you for watching and we hope you found this information helpful in meeting your OASV policy requirements for Hunter New England Health, and we look forward to working with you.
