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NEWS
Experts highlight the vital role of decontamination in keeping patients safe
The Institute of Decontamination Sciences (IDSc) recently hosted its first face- to-face annual conference since the pandemic, bringing together a host of top decontamination experts at the Eastside Rooms in Birmingham to discuss the latest hot topics. High on the agenda on the first day was discussion of mental health in the workplace, apprenticeship schemes, career progression, and putting sustainability into practice. The plenary session on education, highlighted some of the benefits of apprenticeship training for staff, including: l A highly knowledgeable and skilled workforce, ensuring improved performance.
l Promoting confidence and competence. l Providing progression and development opportunities.
l Real work experiences. l Ownership over their learning journey. l Investment in lifelong learning. l Passion for the work they do. l A sense of achievement.
The Clinical Services Journal also interviewed a range of industry experts during the exhibition, to gain an insight into key issues in decontamination. CSJ spoke to Chris Hill, national sales manager at Getinge, who has been in the sector for around 17 years and originally came from a military background.
He highlighted the fact that there is some exciting innovation in automation taking place in decontamination. There is a greater focus on quality and output, today, and the sector has come a long way in terms of quality and safety, in his view. However, he commented that there is a need to drive awareness of decontamination and bring the discipline to the forefront. Decontamination has been ‘a Cinderella’ service in the basement, historically, but it is “the heart of the hospital”. “It needs to be
taken more seriously,” Chris asserted. He added that Getinge is investing in education and training and is a big supporter of apprenticeships. Having started his own career as an apprentice, Chris has seen their value first hand, in developing the next generation of skilled individuals in STEM professions – including decontamination science. There is a recognition among AEDs that there is a need to attract “fresh blood” into the industry. Chris is optimistic that the situation is improving, commenting that, although there are some challenges, there are some “really good people coming though”. He further highlighted the importance of communicating early on with the manufacturers of pioneering medical device technologies, such as robotics, to ensure decontamination is always at the forefront. SSDs, manufacturers of decontamination solutions and the device manufacturers need to ensure they are “all on the same page”. This is a stance that CMR Surgical also reaffirmed in a discussion on decontamination of robotic instruments, during the conference programme on the second day. Stuart White, decontamination manager, CMR Surgical, outlined the key factors for
success – these include: early customer engagement with the manufacturer, professional education, unambiguous Instructions For Use (IFUs), as well as ongoing support. Judith Pilling, a qualified sonographer, was also among the experts asked for their views on how we can improve patient safety. Judith highlighted the risks associated with inadequate decontamination of ultrasound probes. In the UK, the MHRA previously issued a Medical Device Alert warning of the risks associated reusable transoesophageal echocardiography, transvaginal and transrectal ultrasound probes, following the death of patient from hepatitis B – which was thought to have been transmitted by an improperly disinfected endocavity ultrasound probe. Judith pointed out that automated, high level disinfection systems can help minimise the risks and reduce the risk of human errors, associated with manual, non- standardised approaches. The video interviews with these and other
industry experts can be viewed on the CSJ website:
www.clinicalservicesjournal.com Further details of the conference highlights will also be published in the next editions.
HSIB issues warning on risk assessments for postnatal blood clots
Pregnant women and pregnant people could suffer a potentially fatal blood vessel blockage if their risk is not properly assessed during pregnancy and the first six weeks after birth, says HSIB’s latest report. HSIB’s investigation found that for healthcare staff, carrying out a robust assessment of risk factors for VTE is challenging, particularly in complex and
JANUARY 2023
busy environments. Multiple competing demands, exacerbated by distractions and interruptions, mean healthcare professionals are constantly having to balance risk and safety for the pregnant women/pregnant people they care for and are trading off the thoroughness of assessments to improve efficiency. HSIB also identified that recommendations by MBRRACE-UK for the
development of a tool to make the current assessment of VTE risk factors simpler and more reproducible, have not been acted on. The report concludes with local learning that maternity providers across the country can take on board to help support the assessment of risk factors for VTE. To read the full report, visit HSIB’s website:
www.hsib.org.uk
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