ENDOSCOPY
Safe storage and transport of endoscopes
A fast scope vacuum packing system is helping Gloucestershire Royal Hospital’s endoscopy services meet demand, safely and efficiently. The iM Med system is designed to prolong the aseptic storage and safe transportation of endoscopes for up to 30 days.
Patient safety and efficiency are at the forefront of Gloucestershire Royal Hospital’s endoscopy services and the Trust needed a solution to ensure the integrity of its reprocessed scopes, as well as traceability. The department wanted to ensure the safe, aseptic storage of its endoscopes, but also needed to maximise capacity and space. Earlier vacuum packing systems, used by the hospital, had encountered supply issues – obtaining the gas and the bags from the supplier had proven challenging. After conducting various trials, another system had been purchased, but this also took around 15-minutes for the process to be completed and there were additional considerations relating to the injection of chemicals, which the hospital wanted to eliminate. To address these issues, the hospital opted for the EndoPax endoscope packing system, from iM Med, enabling the busy department to extend the storage time for its decontaminated scopes, while ensuring the safety of patients at all times. “The EndoPax is quick, easy and extends the life of the scope,” commented Emma Grange, assistant endoscopy practitioner at Gloucestershire Royal Hospital. “It eases the pressure on the department as the gas-packed scopes have 30-days aseptic storage and we have more scopes than drying cabinet space. We are mainly using EndoPax for non-auxiliary scopes, which go out of the department,” she explained.
Following decontamination and compliant drying in an endoscope drying cabinet, ensuring all residual bacteria are fully desiccated, an endoscope is packed using the space-saving, free-standing iM EndoPax system. The technology is based on a preservation process widely used in the food industry to reliably eliminate the risk of microbial growth. With a rapid, user-friendly process,
The EndoPax is quick, easy and extends the life of the scope. It eases the pressure on the department as the gas-packed scopes have 30-days aseptic storage and we have more scopes than drying cabinet space.
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the system delivers a process ensuring the internal and external lumens are fully conditioned using an inert gas mix, to inhibit aerobic and anaerobic bacterial growth. Without the addition of chemistry to the terminal packing process, potential risk is reduced to the endoscope, patient and user. Emma points out that alternative systems that use additional chemicals need to be flushed out prior to the next use. She reports that, as well as improving safety, the iM Med solution has helped to improve efficiency by speeding up the overall packing process. “EndoPax takes less than two minutes, which includes packing and scanning the vacuum-packed scope. The packed scope goes into one of our own trays. Generally, we use it for 15 to 20 scopes a week. All the cystoscopes are vacuum bagged using the EndoPax. We usually have 12 to 15 pre- packed, ready to go to main theatres and clinics on site. Some of our therapy scopes are gas packed too, as they’re not used as regularly as standard scopes.” “We sometimes send scopes to our sister site, Cheltenham General Hospital. These are vacuum packed using the EndoPax and transported there. It saves having to wash them again on arrival. If they need a scope quickly, we can send a vacuum packed one, so as not to delay their lists,” Emma continued.
She explained that at each stage of the process, the operator’s ID is scanned into the track and trace system: “We take a scope from the drying cabinet after a minimum of four hours drying time. The scope is placed into the bag, making sure that the ETO caps are on and all accessories are included. The bag is placed into the EndoPax machine, ensuring the bag’s gas inlets line up, and lowering the lid starts the process.” The system removes air from the bag and the endoscope is fully conditioned within the lumens and other surfaces with the
NOVEMBER 2020
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