CS CONNECTION
sterilizer at a time, the team was able to keep up with its work- load during the upgrade. Things have not been so straightforward this year as Manchester
oyal nfirmary Hospitals replaces its washer-disinfec- tors. The department features an unusual design, with its washer- disinfectors on the bottom floor and the sterilizers on the floor above them. Because of some issues with steam pipework above the washers, the department has been required to shut down for six months while the new washer-disinfectors are installed. “Because the department would be closed for such a long period of time, we made the decision to refurbish everything,” said Allan. “When the remodeling is done, we will have a brand-new department.” But with five hospitals dependent on the for instrument reprocessing, how does the support clinical care when it has no place to do it?
Allan and his team looked at a few options. One was to build a new, smaller department on-site, but that would take too much time and money, and they dont have the space. They also looked at mobile sterile processing units that could be placed on-site. gain, this was too costly, and the mobile units would not fit on the hospitals site, which is located in the middle of the city of Manchester.
The ultimate solution involved a mix of internal and external resources. The H has another in orth anchester. The department is much smaller than the one at Manchester Royal nfirmary Hospital and has its own instruments to process. t was determined that while this cannot take on the instrument volume from five additional hospitals, it does have the capacity to process instruments from four of the hospitals. . s for the instruments from the remaining hospital, t arys,
llan and his team turned to teris, which had a local reprocess- ing facility in their vicinity. The teris facility can also accom- modate any overflow in instruments that the in orth Manchester could not handle. At the North Manchester site, the greatest challenges are transportation and staffing. The anchester niversity H Foundation Trust had to hire vehicles and agency drivers to transport dirty instruments from anchester oyal nfirmary, and return clean instruments, a 10-mile trip each way. “While we are still meeting the 24-hour tray turnaround time target, our hospitals are still adjusting to the fact that they are not getting their instruments back as fast as they did when our centralized department was in operation,” explains Allan. t wasnt until the team began transporting instruments off-site
for reprocessing did they realize they had insufficient inventory to accommodate this model. Because turnaround time has increased, they have had to purchase additional instruments to meet the surgical case load.
“In the past we processed instruments so quickly through our centralized site that it masked the lack of equipment available,” said Allan. “If we had the time, we would have reviewed our inventory before switching to this off-site model, determined what we needed and acquired the instruments then.” Because the orth anchester didnt have enough staff to accommodate the increased instrument volume, Allan and his team had to arrange for staff members from their hospitals to be sent there. While some technicians have their own vehicles, or can use public transportation, some do not have a means of making the trip. To overcome this challenge, the Manchester niversity H Foundation Trust has hired taxis to drive staff to and from the facility.
“We never had to manage this type of logistics in sterile process- ing so it has been a learning experience,” commented llan. “taff
members are sometimes late and miss their taxis so it is not so straightforward as it would seem.” The anchester niversity H Foundation Trust is about
three months into the department renovation at this time this article is published. Even with all the challenges, Allan says his team has remained positive and supportive. “The staff knows this remodel must be done and we have to keep supplying instruments or surgeries cant be performed and babies cant be born,” said llan. “y advice to others in this situation is to identify and develop a robust business continuity plan to keep operations running during the renovation.”
New equipment and products innovations for the CS/SPD
Below are some of the latest offerings from suppliers for effec- tive and safe sterile processing that can be implemented during a renovationrebuild or during business as usual.
Getinge’s New Torin Artificial Intelligence Prediction of surgery times with Getinge’s New Torin Artificial Intelligence (AI) feature can improve the accuracy of the OR schedule which in-turn also improves staff and patient satisfaction. The more accurate your OR schedule is, the more stable it will present itself throughout the day and week. A stable OR schedule will also lead to a more precise sterile services department and logistical workflow. One of the reasons for that stability is that the AI takes more variables
into account than just the equation of time. It takes into account the staff required, room restrictions and mobile devices, so people can focus more on the tasks at hand and less on the accurateness of the surgery schedule of the day. By combining the AI power of Torin with the planning capabili- ties of Getinge’s T-DOC sterile supply management solution the staff will be presented with proper priority guidance in the CSSD to enhance the performance of the OR even more.
Healthmark Industries Light Cord Adapters Designed to connect light cords to a light source for inspection, the Light Cord Adapters assist healthcare workers with testing the integ- rity of light cords for intensity of light and fiber optic damage. Simply, choose the appropriate light cord adapter, attach to the light cord and secure together. Then, attach a light source to the light cord adapter and secure together, activate the light source and inspect. If any defects or damage are identified, remove the light cord from service. The Light Cord Adapters are offered for the fol- lowing makes of light cords: Storz, Stryker, ACMI and Wolf and are avail- able for individual purchase. Avail- able light sources are sold separately.
34 September 2021 • HEALTHCARE PURCHASING NEWS •
hpnonline.com
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