DECONTAMINATION & STERILE SERVICES
Regulation
The different stages of decontamination associated with reprocessing reusable sur- gical instruments needs to be described in detail to ensure that all staff involved with the handling of these devices fully under- stand the implications of not following them.
O’Brien said: “Decontamination service providers are quite heavily regulated; you need to demonstrate compliance to essen- tial requirements of the Medical Devices Directive which requires the application of a quality management system. This in turn is audited by a notified body who them- selves are responsible to and controlled by the MHRA (Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency), part of the Department of Health.
“The guidance needs to cover all aspects of processing, the particular elements in sterile services which are controlled within a department. There are many other peo- ple involved in principle distribution, such as portering staff in hospitals that need to understand the delicacy of packaging and instruments to ensure that they maintain sterility to the point of use, which effec- tively is the operating theatre, or in a ward
or department where the clinical procedure will take place.”
The decontamination life cycle describes the process from the point of use, through decontamination, and back to the patient and the point of use again. Each stage of the process is key in ensuring that devices to be re-used are safe for the patient.
O’Brien explained: “Transportation and decontamination; each of those different stages must be specified. The device must be handled and processed in certain ways in order to ensure that instruments are ul- timately fit for purpose, clean and sterile when used on the patient.”
Keeping up to date
The Health and Social Care Act established the Care Quality Commission who is re- sponsible for regulating standards of care within the NHS. The Act contains a code of practice for the NHS on the prevention and control of infection which include decon- tamination requirements.
This has provided a regulatory framework by which hospitals must demonstrate their compliance to decontamination standards amongst other things.
“However this is now rare and surgical in- struments are processed in accredited sterile service departments of- fering a centralise ser- vice where processes are controlled and with trained technician car- rying out the work en- suring high standards are met as a routine.”
Val O’Brien
FOR MORE INFORMATION Visit
www.idsc-uk.co.uk
The benefits of single use instruments
Nicholas Batt, Senior Partner at B&H Surgical Instrument Makers, looks at the advantages of the use of single use instruments to curb delays in treatment.
A
record number of NHS oper- ations are being cancelled at
the last minute according to new figures, with a series of factors to blame for the crisis.
At B&H Surgical we believe a timely and appropriate provision of instruments is necessary to ensure that this does not become a contributing factor to this in- crease.
Single use instruments guarantee a completely clean and sterile in- strument for every patient. As they are used once and disposed of, they remove the need for lengthy decontamination processes.
Their use eliminates the possible risks associated with off-site steri- lisation, where deliveries may not
62 | national health executive Nov/Dec 11
In support of maintaining standards, a series of guidance documents are being updated by the DH. IDSc is contributing to the detail of the specific aspects of de- contamination to which these documents relate.
O’Brien said, “The Health & Social Care Act and the Health Bill updated the regulatory requirements for infection prevention and control and provided a means by which assessments are made for standards of de- contamination in hospitals.
“Ten years or so ago some surgical instru- ment processing was carried out in differ- ent departments within hospitals, in thea- tres and some clinical departments.
always be flexible and changes in demand at short notice may not always be effectively catered for, leading to delays in treatment.
All B&H Surgical single use prod- ucts are individually traceable via their lot number, which can be re- corded on the patient’s notes, pro- viding peace of mind for both the healthcare professional using the instrument and the patient.
FOR MORE INFORMATION E:
office@bhsi.co.uk
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100