Sterile Processing: Role In Patient Safety

Dirty equipment – having dirty equipment which is not cleaned between patients can spread infection very fast lots of bacteria can be spread on a blood pressure cuff for example.

All equipment must be cleaned in between patients if it is re-usable and not for single use. There are three levels of risk High, intermediate and low, and three ways to decontaminate Cleaning, Sterilisation, and Disinfection.

Has anyone ever considered how medical devices are prepared before a surgical procedure? Central Sterile Processing Department (CSPD) consists of services within the Hospital, in which reusable medical devices will be cleaned, prepared, and processed. The role for CSPD is to prevent infection transmitted by usage of medical devices. The procedure for hospital medical devices before surgery has a four part workflow process in: Decontamination, to Instrumentation, to Sterilization and Sterile Storage (Case Carts). An example is given for reprocessing an Intestinal Set and the supplies needed for the preparation of this medical device set.

All areas that are being used for healthcare activities should be cleaned with either disinfectant wipes each morning and in between patients/procedures. Equipment should be all new out of the packets and clean. For things more major such as vasectomy’s, minor surgery or family planning clinics, areas should be cleaned everywhere with a disinfectant fluid and also with wipes, gloves should always be worn as well as other PPE such as aprons and hats. All equipment should be new from the packet and only touched by the person who is using

The last form of sterilization I am going to talk about is cold sterile. The reason for cold sterile is not all items can go into heat sterilization. Liquid sterilant, such as 2% to 3.4% glutataldehyde, must be used for this type of sterilization. In order for the cold sterile to work the items must be fully submerged for no less than 10 hours, anything less than that would only be disinfection. This form of sterilization also requires a material safety data sheet due to it being a chemical.

Dreading going to work was my lifestyle, up until our new director, Jessica Gettings. The workplace atmosphere has improved greatly, with her making several necessary changes. Almost all of the changes had been over-looked in the past by our previous director, with Sterile Processing being one of the most neglected. Multiple workers have noticed, through all these transitions, that attitudes have shifted to a more positive mood, work production has begun to increase, and workers in this department have started to feel more connected. Within the last month, however, I have seen a decline in work production from Sonia Tribble and Tyler Boedecker, both of which have had problems in the past. The two, seem to, show up late and avoid work by conversing

Flames of evolution in patient care have been fanned into a wholesome revolution in the nature of nursing care due to the ever changing healthcare needs and demands of patients. This has led to a paradigm shift from generalized patient care to a patient centered approach. The increase in interaction and individualized patient management has improved healthcare delivery. However, on the flipside, this has not come with new challenges. Healthcare providers are increasingly being exposed to new health hazards as new and sophisticated treatment approaches are developed. Injuries due to sharps are of significance in nursing practice. The International Healthcare Workers Safety Center (2010) reports that an average of 27.97 per 100 licensed beds sharps injuries occurred in 2007 while in 2008 17.2 per 100 licensed beds sharps injuries were recorded. According to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2010), 385,000 healthcare workers are injured due to sharps annually in the United States. This puts the healthcare personnel at risk of contracting infections such as Hepatitis C and B from contaminated objects. In regard to this concept, this paper will explore sharps safety at the clinical site with a view of using evidence based practice to creating awareness on the need for sharps safety in hospital settings.

While shadowing my fellow upper cohorts during the clinic I had made many observations. Unfortunately I was only able to shadow one clinic, although I observed a lot. Marie was the first student that I was shadowing, she was the CA for the day. We started by stocking the cabinets with the necessities. Marie and I then took the dental tools out of the machines that cleaned, sterilized, and dried them. I was shown that there are two sides in the lab. What I mean by this is that the left side is a dirty side which you should always wear gloves so that you are always protected from the bacteria and germs that the tools carry. Everything on this side has to be handled carefully and you must always wash and sanitize your hands when you are through. The right side is the clean side where the tools and dental accessories are kept so that they stay clean and sterile. Next I was with Jennifer, although she had no patients that day due to a

The Joint Commission Accreditation Body assesses health care organization’s compliance with National Patient Safety Goals. The goal of the Joint Commission Body is to focus on critical aspects and patient safety issues in health care organizations, which can vary according to the setting of the health care being performed (Chassin, 2008). Infections occurring in surgical sites of patients account for 15% of all infections that transpire in a hospital setting, and the risk of death doubles in patients who develop infections. The dangers of surgical site infections include superficial, deep, and organ or space infections. The different infections include cellulitis, gangrene, MRSA, and wound sinus, which can lead to amputation, organ

However, to keep these pieces of medical equipment up and running, they must take solemn practices of sanitizing and cleaning of the materials.

The use of disinfecting Curos™ caps must be a routine practice on all oncology floors. This change can readily be implemented, as it does not take much training to learn how to use. The Curos™ caps should also be implemented already existing CLABSI prevention bundles. Considering the 12-25% high mortality rates of CLABSI, implementing the disinfecting caps could reduce the rates of CLABSI by as much as 66% (Whitfield& Lowe, 2013). According to Ramirez, Lee, & and Welch(2014) “ During 2010,the CLABSI rate reduced from 1.9 to 0.5 per 1,000 catheter days during a one-year trial period. Furthermore, compliance to CLABSI prevention bundles increased from 63% to 80% when implementing the disinfecting Curos ™ caps. This high

Research shows that Surgical site infections are preventable. According to the CDC, hand hygiene is the simplest approach to preventing the spread of infections and needs to be incorporated into the culture of the organization. Ensuring the use of infection control prevention is an important component of nursing care. Infection control prevention policies must be communicated undoubtedly to all employees. Staffers who do not comply must be re-educated to ensure that all are complying. Speaking up and pointing out that a nurse forgot to wash his or her hands, or notifying the surgical team that surgical instruments were not adequately cleaned may seem like small issues; but at the same time, not acknowledging a break in a sterile technique could mean the difference between life and death for a patient. One hospital that was struggling with high levels of infection related to surgical procedures, implemented a pre-procedure huddle as a team. This innovate way decreased the spread of infection and was a great way to improve the quality of care for patients. As mandated by the Joint commission, infection prevention personnel should provide multidisciplinary education on SSI prevention, to all team members, including

* Hand washing is the most important method of preventing the spread of infection by contact (Ayliffe et al 1999). The Nottingham University Trust Policy on Hand Hygiene (2009) states that there are three types of hand hygiene, the first is ‘routine hand hygiene’ which involves the use of soap and water for 15 – 20 seconds or the application of alcohol hand rub until the hand are dry. The second is ‘hand disinfection’ which should be used prior to an aseptic procedure by washing with soap and water and applying alcohol hand rub afterwards. The third is ‘surgical hand washing’ which is the application of a microbial agent to the hands and wrists for two minutes. In addition to which a sterile, disposable brush may be used for the first surgical hand wash of the day although continued use will encourage colonisation of microbes. The third example is the most appropriate to any O.D.P undertaking the surgical role as it is the best way for the surgical team to eliminate transient flora and reduce resident skin flora (World Health Organization 2010). The first and second are important to any O.D.P undertaking any other role within the Operating Department as this is the best way to reduce the transient microbial flora without necessarily affecting the resident skin flora

“The Process Improvement in Stanford Hospital’s Operating Room” case has many issues when it comes to regards to its existing instrument provisioning process taking place within the Operating Room (OR) of Stanford’s Hospital. This process entails getting instruments ready for a surgery in the OR and the cleansing of these instruments afterwards; however, there are many problems that arise in this process.

Any item that is used on or inside a patient in the surgical setting must go through a rigorous process that includes being cleaned, checked for damage, and prepared for