Central Sterilising Club
managers can do to support staff. He urged the audience to “Be brave, commit to education and ensure the time to support staff”, adding that they should be “prepared to be challenged by their staff as they learn – as they will identify areas for improvement”.
Decontamination managers should also
ensure that the support is in place for those undertaking training and professional qualifications – they cannot do it on their own. Apprenticeships require a documented 20% off job training, for example, so managers need to plan and book this into the staff rota. The benefit is that such training will drive up quality from the floor through the department. Staff will understand why the task must be carried out, as validated, and be able to reason with demanding colleagues. They will pass on their newly learnt knowledge with other colleagues, and it will help with career progression, ensuring better staff retention. Looking to the future, Trevor emphasised the
need to consider the development of the next generation of ‘managers’. It has been forecast that 50% of current managers will be hitting retirement age over the next 10 years. “We need new people coming through!” he exclaimed, concluding with a quote by Richard Branson. We should: “Train people well enough so they can leave; treat them well enough so that they don’t want to.” The session was opened up to a discussion panel consisting of Jon Windeatt (HSDU Manager of Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital); Andrea Wadey (SSD Manager of Worthing and St Richards Hospital) and Tony Sullivan (Past Durham and Darlington Decontamination Manager). The session was facilitated by Becky Hill who
invited the audience to answer a Mentimeter question: ‘Do you think the technical bulletin should be enforced? Of the 68 who voted, 71% (48) said ‘Yes’ , 13% (9) said ‘No’ and 16% (11) were undecided. (See fig 1)
9 Yes 11 48
to the 2025 ASM Debate – Should we review periodic testing within the HTM 01 Series?’
No Undecided
Fig 1. Do you think the technical bulletin (NETB/2024/1) should be enforced?
Initial thoughts were solicited from the panel and then the audience were invited to ask their questions via the Menti App, and the discussions began. Below are some of the points that were raised: l The document is ‘well overdue’. l An audit around the country would inform where various departments are in relation to the document.
l End point assessment variations in apprenticeship training is dependent on the college and the trainer, they are either very good or very poor, so there is a feeling that we need to look at a more ‘standard’ approach with a suggestion of an online programme.
Other highlights of the Study Day included an inspiring discussion of ‘Insights into habits and what creates change’, by Professor Ian Walker, an environmental psychologist at Swansea University. The day ended with discussion of ‘What does this house believe? – An introduction
Topical issues for 2025 Building on the topical issues discussed at the Autumn Study Day, the next Annual Scientific Meeting (ASM) promises to be just as thought provoking, with the theme of ‘Risk and Revolution’. This year’s ASM will invite delegates to consider: can we embrace risk as being a legitimate avenue for action with scope for fundamental change, and revolutionise the delivery of efficient solutions within the decontamination and infection prevention and control field? As always, the committee has looked to put a multi-disciplinary programme together to provoke discussion, learning and raise awareness. Details of the programme can be found in the panel at the end of this article. CSJ
References 1. TU Delf, KIC grant awarded to sustainable surgery robot for minimally invasive surgery. Accessed at:
https://www.tudelft.nl/ en/2023/3me/news/kic-grant-awarded-to- sustainable-surgery-robot-for-minimally- invasive-surgery
2. Banerjee, G., Farmer, S.F., Hyare,
H.et al. Iatrogenic Alzheimer’s disease in recipients of cadaveric pituitary-derived growth
hormone.Nat Med 30, 394–402 (2024). https://
doi.org/10.1038/s41591-023-02729-2
3. NHS Estates Technical Bulletin (NETB/2024/1) version 2.0: competency framework for staff working in sterile services and decontamination departments, last updated 25 April, 2024.
CSC events for 2025
The next CSC event will be the Annual Scientific Meeting 2025, taking place 14-15 April 2025, at the Crowne Plaza Chester Hotel. Hot topics range from ‘Why you need to report Decontamination Incidents’, to ‘Challenges in Theatres and how those challenges impact the Sterile Services’. The Autumn Study Day 2025, taking place later this year, will be based around a specific theme covering topical subjects chosen from current challenges faced by members. Further details will be available over the coming months… The full programme and details for both
events can be viewed on CSC’s website (events section) at:
https://centralsterilisingclub.org/
April 2025 I
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