Health service HVAC COVID-19 readiness assessment | Health Technical Advice

The purpose of this Health Technical Advice (HTA-2021-002) is to provide guidance to health agencies to facilitate assessment of their Heating, Ventilation and Air-Conditioning (HVAC) systems.

This guide is to be used to support the development and implementation of the Hierarchy of Controls model as part of a multi-discipline approach to managing identified risk.

Health services should ensure that they have adequate air ventilation, with fresh air rather than recirculated air utilised for COVID wards via the heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems. In implementing their Hierarchy of Controls, health services must, at a minimum, understand their HVAC systems.

The Department of Health IPC Ventilation (COVID-19) Policy and the Victorian Health Building Authority’s Health Technical Advice HVAC system strategies to airborne infectious outbreaks provide a suite of infection control measures for healthcare settings to utilise to prevent transmission of COVID-19 with a focus on improving ventilation and airflows.

This readiness assessment guide assists health agencies to understand the appropriateness of spaces and risk mitigation measures required for the treatment and care of patients with COVID-19.

This Health Technical Advice includes:

• Health agency details
  • Section 1 – Areas where AECOM HVAC assessments have been undertaken
  • Section 2 – Health service assessment (where AECOM HVAC assessments were not done/new capacity or wards) and non-infrastructure solutions
  • Section 3 – Maintenance details and certification
• HVAC system checklist

Please note: This document has been prepared as a guide and for information purposes only. No legal obligation for any loss, damage or expense is incurred by any person relying on the information provided.