NTH Solutions enables leading public and private sector organisations (NHS and private hospitals, GP’s, cosmetic treatment providers, dentists, vets, police, councils and more) to reduce risks and make efficiency savings through innovative facilities management and support services. This month we went behind the scenes in our Central Sterile Services Department (CSSD for short) who support organisations in ensuring their medical instruments are fit for purpose.
In Brief
Derek Watson, who heads up the department was kind enough to arrange an opportunity for Faye Scio, Marketing Manager to see just what makes our CSSD so unique and sought after.
Located on the lower ground floor at North Tees Hospital, the department is responsible for the cleaning and sterilisation of over 500 scopes, 1500 instrument trays and 1000 supplementary (single) instruments, week in, week out. Not only that, but the circa 40 strong team of highly experienced and passionate experts do it all to stringent ISO standards. Amongst other things, this means that they turn each individual item around in less than 24 hours! Derek Watson, who heads up the department was kind enough to arrange an opportunity for Faye Scio, Marketing Manager to see just what makes our CSSD so unique and sought after.
So Where Does It All Start?
Well, first stop is the ‘dirty room.’ As soon as an item enters the department it’s logged using a handheld Radio Frequency scanner. This is part of a sophisticated traceability process which means staff know the location of any instrument at any point in time.
Then begins the washing process. If something is particularly dirty (thick, dried on blood etc) then it’s cleaned by hand at the manual wash sinks. Following that, it goes into a state of the art automated washer for 40 minutes at up to 90°c.
Now it needs to be expertly inspected and wrapped for sterilisation. This happens in the ‘clean room’ where everyone is in blue scrubs (red in the dirty room). This is often the busiest part of the department, each individual piece of equipment is meticulously checked for cleanliness and serviceability (does it work as it should?).
Angie Lawlor – Senior Supervisor (whose passion shines through from a million miles away) demonstrated just a couple of their self-imposed processes, from wiping tables in a specific direction only (three times a day), to folding and taping the trays in a specific way to keep out the bugs. Angie said: ‘We encourage each member of our team to share ideas and feedback by having regular team briefings with either management or supervisors. We review the non-conformance process via performance criteria on a weekly basis which enables staff to adjust or adopt any new processes or training which would positively impact the safety of patients.’
The wrapped instrument trays are now ready for sterilisation which is done in an Autoclave (which controls the required pressure and temperature) that reaches between 134°c and 137°c for a minimum of three minutes. Following sterilisation, they are ready to be despatched back to the customer.
A Dedicated Endoscope Decontamination Unit (EDU)
There’s a separate process for flexible endoscopes (you can imagine, lots of narrow tubes etc require a different cleaning process). Faye met Alison, Anne and Melanie in the EDU (or the scope room as they call it). First the scopes are washed by hand, then the team expertly connect each scope up to a cassette which ensures the tubing is attached to the individual scope channels. Alison then demonstrated the endoscope washer disinfector in action. She really knows her stuff, having worked in the department for over eight years. She loves the fast paced nature of the department and is awesome at prioritising and working under pressure – essential for the 24-hour turnaround service.
As part of the washer process the scopes have a pure water rinse from a Reverse Osmosis Unit. This ensures the rinse water used in the washers/disinfectors is as pure as possible.
If the scopes are to be used within the next three hours, then they don’t need to be dried. Otherwise the endoscope storage system will dry them for four hours which preserves them for up to seven days.
100% Instrument Traceability
One of the key reasons that many organisations choose us is because of our unique and efficient 100% traceability system. It means that we always know the exact location and stage of the sterilisation process that any instrument is at. Whether it’s dental trays, orthopaedic trays or endoscopes, our customers know that their instruments are in safe hands.
Loan Kits
Finally, Faye met the Store Keeper Clerk, John Noble. John’s responsible for looking after the loan kits that come in. If theatres require more specialist instruments for very specific procedures, this is often loaned to them. With our 100% traceability system in place, they are reassured that these valuable items are safe. Derek said: ‘In fact, they could ring us up at any time and we could locate their kit within seconds – same goes for any instrument tray or scope actually!’
Find Out More
Our CSSD department serves a range of NHS Trusts, private GP surgeries, dentists and more. If you are interested in finding out more about the department or any of our other services, please contact us on 01642 383759 or email:tony.wilson4@nhs.net
