DECONTAMINATION
responsible person must also manage maintenance, repair and validation according to manufacturer instructions; record keeping, validation and traceability for a lifecycle of +11 years.”
Dr Cantin added that the role of an operator is a key part of the chain, undertaking decontamination, cleaning and traceability, and reporting to the responsible user. However, he noted that ultrasound manufacturers also have responsibility, notably to ensure that ultrasound probes can undergo high level decontamination procedures and underwrite these. “Manufacturers must make explicit what is – and is not – acceptable decontamination practice,” he said. “They must also ensure ultrasound probes are sufficiently robust to withstand reasonable handling – and to provide choice where possible. Perhaps the question needs to be asked, ‘is there an agreed standard between manufacturers’?” He concluded: “From the sonographer’s perspective, high-level decontamination is not optional, and state registered ultrasound practitioners are obliged to ensure safe practices for patients. It’s important that sonographers work with infection control departments and decontamination leads to find workable solutions. These need to be safe, assured, cost-effective and time-effective.”
Assurance and governance
Liz Collins, clinical lead infection prevention, at the University Hospitals of Leicester NHS
From the sonographer’s perspective, high-level decontamination is not optional, and state registered ultrasound practitioners are obliged to ensure safe practices for patients. Dr Peter Cantin, University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust
Trust (UHL), discussed organisational awareness, assessment and implementation. When it was decided that the decontamination committee was not working, UHL set the challenge of providing a robust assurance and governance process, that was able to withstand external scrutiny. Liz explained: “We had to ask ourselves some serious questions, such as did we know what was going on in our organisation? How could we deliver a safe service to our patients? How could we get the right people in the right place and gain their engagement? “Human factor principles were key in order to enhance clinical performance, through an understanding of the effects of teamwork, tasks, equipment, workspace, culture and organisation on human behaviour and abilities. The challenge was to apply that knowledge in clinical settings. “We took a deep breath, stepped back and thought there has to be a better way to do this.” In a bid to prevent infection during ultrasound probe use and reprocessing, the
Trust’s infection prevention assurance committee developed the Infection Prevention Toolkit. It contains four parts: Tool 1 – ‘Locate and Profile’; Tool 2 – ‘Decision making algorithm’; Tool 3 – ‘Risk assessment’; Tool 4 – ‘Policy development framework’.
Liz explained that the success behind the toolkit has been its ease of use. “The Infection Prevention Toolkit is also used for staff education in each area, and this provides greater understanding of why they are working in a given way. “This also enables action plan development where areas identify further work required.” As the day’s talks drew to a close, the feedback from delegates and speakers was extremely positive. Bryn Tudor-Owen, country manager, UK and Ireland, noted: “Our study day is an excellent networking opportunity for those working with infection prevention and control, and decontamination, as well as the clinical areas involved with ultrasound.”
CSJ
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