DECONTAMINATION
pressure – the mental health and stress levels of teams must be closely monitored by decontamination leads, over the coming year. Time and resources for training must also be made available, to safeguard high standards of patient safety, both now and in the future. COVID-19 has presented sterile services departments with a new threat to focus their attention. But it is evident that some of the old, familiar issues persist – particularly around instrument design. This will require departments to challenge the status quo and to apply pressure on manufacturers to tackle this thorny issue. The sector will need to continue to work closely with industry around R&D, ensuring they put infection prevention and patient safety at the centre of all they do.
For information on the CSC, visit:
https://centralsterilisingclub.org
References 1 Rizan, C, et al, Environmental impact of personal protective equipment distributed for use by health and social care services in England in the first six months of the COVID-19 pandemic, Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine, 16 March 2021,
https://doi.org/10.1177/01410768211001583 https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/ 01410768211001583
Sustainability: how can the sector help? OPINION
CSJ
In 2022, CSC will be holding its 60th Anniversary Annual Scientific Meeting at the Crowne Plaza, Stratford-upon-Avon, 4-5 April 2022. This year, the event will also be live streamed. Later in the year, the Autumn 2022 Study Day will provide further opportunities for education and networking. There will be a strong sustainability focus, with input from partnering organisations – including Royal College of Nursing (RCN) and BSG. In October 2020, the NHS became the world’s first health service to commit to reaching carbon net zero, in response to the profound and growing threat to health posed by climate change.
Sustainability will become a key focus area for decontamination units – whether it is discussion on minimising the environmental impact of detergents and chemistries, improving energy efficiency/ water consumption during decontamination processes, reducing packaging waste, single- use instrumentation vs reusable alternatives, or investigating the potential of reprocessing personal protective equipment (PPE). According to a study published in
the Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine,1
the carbon footprint of
personal protective equipment (PPE) provided to health and social care staff in England, during the first six months of the COVID-19 pandemic, was equivalent to flying from London to New York 244 times every day.1 Decontamination units could have a significant role to play by investigating the potential to safely decontaminate reusable PPE. “NHS Improvement, AfPP and RCN are all looking at the efficiencies that can be achieved, in relation to PPE usage. Instead of throwing away large volumes of clinical waste, the NHS could be supported to reduce its environmental impact. Decontamination departments also need to look at energy savings and other aspects that can contribute to reducing the environmental impact of the NHS – this will be an important trend and CSC will be developing a training day on ‘green decontamination and sustainability’ to help find ways to drive this agenda forward,” Jimmy Walker concluded.
JANUARY 2022
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