A surface in a hospital corridor is never just a surface, and the professionals responsible for keeping it safe rarely sit in the same room to say so. That gap is exactly what the new Healthcare Surfaces Forum, hosted by ISSA Healthcare and sponsored by VIRTUAL MGR, is intended to close.
Taking place on Wednesday 7 October 2026 at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre, the Forum lands the day before Australasia’s largest cleaning and facility solutions event, the ISSA Cleaning & Hygiene Expo, running 8 to 9 October at the same venue.
What the day involves
The Healthcare Surfaces Forum is designed as a collaborative working forum rather than a traditional conference. Expert presentations and facilitated discussions will examine key issues affecting environmental hygiene in healthcare – from the evidence behind effective cleaning and infection prevention to surface selection, cleanability, product compatibility, standards, testing, durability and instructions for use.
A key focus will be the gap between what evidence, standards and guidance tell us should happen and what can realistically and consistently be achieved in complex healthcare environments.
The program will also explore how decisions across infection prevention, environmental services, facilities, procurement and manufacturing can influence cleaning effectiveness and healthcare outcomes.
Following the morning program, participants will move into interactive breakout sessions after lunch to delve further into the issues raised, share perspectives and identify practical priorities for improvement and future collaboration.
Who should be in the room
The Forum brings together people who influence healthcare environmental hygiene and surface outcomes but may not routinely have the opportunity to work through these issues together.
That includes building service contractors, environmental services professionals, healthcare executives and facility managers, infection prevention and clinical leaders, manufacturers and suppliers, researchers, scientists and educators.
The intent is to bring these different perspectives into the same conversation, identify where gaps exist and consider how greater collaboration can lead to better outcomes.
From evidence to action
A key presentation will come from Liz Orr, Manager of Infection Prevention and Surveillance Service at The Royal Melbourne Hospital, who will present Where Evidence Meets Reality.
Drawing on her experience in infection prevention, Orr will examine what current evidence is telling us about environmental cleaning, contamination and infection risk, while exploring the realities of translating research, standards and guidance into consistent everyday practice.
Her presentation will lead into the panel discussion, From Evidence to Action: What Does Better Healthcare Cleaning Require?
Featuring Linda Lybert, Executive Director of the Healthcare Surfaces Institute and ISSA Healthcare lead; Liezl Foxcroft, CEO of the Master Cleaners Training Institute; and Carrie Spinks, infection prevention and control consultant, the panel will present varied perspectives on the question of what better healthcare cleaning requires in practice.
The discussion will explore leadership, resources, workforce capability and organisational culture, as well as the collaboration needed across infection prevention, environmental services, facilities and other stakeholders to translate evidence into consistent practice.
Associate Professor Dr Gavin Macgregor-Skinner, Senior Director at ISSA and the Global Biorisk Advisory Council (GBAC), will explore how healthcare organisations can move from knowing what should change to implementing improvements that can be measured and sustained. Using the EPIS framework – Exploration, Preparation, Implementation and Sustainment as well as a practical healthcare case study, he will demonstrate how a structured approach can help translate evidence into practice, evaluate what works, support lasting improvements while demonstrating clear ROIs in healthcare cleaning.
Why collaboration matters
For Lybert, a persistent issue is the disconnect between the different disciplines responsible for healthcare environments.
“Surface safety can no longer be treated as an afterthought,” Lybert says, alluding to the consequences surface decisions can have for patients, workers and sustainability.
Bringing different areas of expertise together can expose blind spots that may not be apparent when each discipline considers the problem independently. That philosophy sits at the heart of the Forum – moving beyond one-way presentations to create an environment where participants can question, discuss and work through issues together.
The afternoon breakout sessions will build on those conversations, giving participants an opportunity to examine priority issues in greater depth and contribute their own experience and expertise.
Getting there
Registration for the Healthcare Surfaces Forum is available through the ISSA Cleaning & Hygiene Expo registration process, where delegates can select the Forum as part of their registration.
For an industry where responsibility for environmental hygiene and surface safety is spread across many disciplines, the Forum provides an opportunity to bring those responsible for research, prevention, products, surfaces and cleaning practice into the same conversation.
The goal is not simply to discuss what better healthcare environmental hygiene looks like, but to help determine what it will take to achieve it.
Seats are filling. Register for your place at the ISSA Cleaning and Hygiene Expo today.
