Dr Ann Bull is an epidemiologist and the Operations Director at VICNISS, where she has been since if formed in 2002. Ann’s particular interests include improving the use of antibiotics given as prophylaxis for surgery and the development of interventions to reduce hospital acquired infections. Ann is also interested in the use of information technology to improve management of health information and patient safety. Ann has a PhD in molecular biology and a Masters in Applied Epidemiology.
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Key Achievements
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Ann has published widely in both Environmental Sciences and Medical Sciences, and has presented papers and workshops at national and international conferences. Ann is an Associate Editor of Healthcare Infection – the national journal for infection prevention and control. Ann’s work on the effectiveness of vancomycin for preventing surgical infections contributed to changes to the national guidelines for surgical prophylaxis.
Research Groups
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VICNISS
The VICNISS Coordinating Centre provides a state-wide, standardised surveillance service for healthcare associated infections (HAIs) and related events. The goal of VICNISS is to monitor and reduce the incidence of HAIs, providing support for health services in Victoria. VICNISS aims to support Victorian health services to carry out international best practice surveillance and analysis, and to lead interventions for quality improvement to improve the health of all Victorians.
VICNISS provides a source of high quality data for regular performance monitoring, and for a valuable resource for the research community. Over the time of VICNISS surveillance, infection rates in key areas of focus have fallen markedly, reducing the significant financial and personal cost of these infections on both individual patients and the health system.
VICNISS collaborates with the National Centre for Antimicrobial Stewardship (NCAS), with a major involvement in aged care NAPS (ac-NAPS). VICNISS is also engaged by DHHS Residential Aged Care Services to carry out monitoring of infection control indicators in Victoria’s public residential aged care services, including participation in ac-NAPS.
Lab Team
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Operations Director (VICNISS)
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Infectious Diseases Physician
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Infectious Disease Physician
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Aged Care NAPS Project Officer
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Kylie Snook
Senior Infection Control Consultant
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Sam Dickson
Senior Infection Control Consultant
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Khosi Dube
Senior Infection Control Consultant
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Business Intelligence Reporting Developer
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Rashedul Hasan
Database Administrator/Developer
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Atal Malavde
Net SQL Programmer (NISPAC project)
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Stephanie Tanamas
Epidemiologist
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Administration Assistant / Office Manager