EBME Forums Forums Management Equipment Libraries Equipment decontamination

Sorry if this topic has been covered before, but regarding libraries, what policies are in place for accepting equipment back after use? Do the users sign a document to state decontamination? And when an item is issued, is there a simular statement to say the equipment is clean when it leaves the library?

Sorry. Humble pie and all that. Just found the strings from november 2002. Still if anythings changed please let me know>

Our library has been running at North Tees Hospital, Stockton on Tees, for 18 months now. When equipment is sent out on loan we attach a 'Device Loan Form'which has a section completed by our staff noting the date we decontaminated the equipment and the date and time it was last recharged electrically. After use, the bottom section of the form is a decontamination certificate, completed by ward staff to say they have 'socially cleaned' the pump so that it safe to transport back to the library There is also space for them to tell us if it has been used on an infectious patient. Ward staff are also required to complete the name and d.o.b. or PAS no. of the patient. One copy of the form is put into the patient's notes, the other is returned with the device to the library and is put onto a database. This ensures traceability of the equipment to the patient.

Margaret,
Whilst I can understand the theory behind your labelling the equipment in the way yo describe, I thought it was outlawed to actually place in full view of anyone an actual patients details with regards to infection risk.
"There is also space for them to tell us if it has been used on an infectious patient. Ward staff are also required to complete the name and d.o.b. or PAS no. of the patient. One copy of the form is put into the patient's notes, the other is returned with the device to the library and is put onto a database. This ensures traceability of the equipment to the patient."
The idea being that Joe /Joanne Blogs who knows patient A could see the label on the equipment being carried down the corridor, read that the patient has MRSA and go and tell the whole neighbourhood that patient A lives in about his / her ailment.
Im sure this came up in a clinical risk meeting, when we where talking about putting labels on the outside of patients notes to identify what infection they have.

The decontamination part of our form is only completed by the nurses on the ward when the equipment is finished being used on the patient. The medical equipment copy of the form is put back in the brown envelope attached to the device and placed in the designated area where our staff collect 'used/dirty' equipment and return it to the library. No-one else sees the form or the comments about infectious patients so there is no breach of patient confidentiality. We originally blanked out the patient's name bit on thelibrary copy because of reasons of confidentiality so only the PAS no. was shown but this caused difficulty for the nurses so we included it in our next printed batch of forms on the advice of ward managers.

Sounds like an excellent idea.
Somehow I feel as though in these modern times, the need for so much paper chasing is letting the system down somewhat.
I feel an electronic, bar code, electronic taggig system approach is what is really needed.

Chris-H

I manage the Equipment Library at Hillingdon.
What I basically do is ensure the clinical staff complete a 'request form' before they can have the equipment. This form is then exchanged for the equipment and the details entered on a database.
To expect nursing staff to complete a form for its return is I have found unrealistic so I ask them to just remove all visible signs of contamination before they return it to their collection point.

We expect the nurses to fill in a form to say the equipment has been cleaned when they want to return it to the equipment library, but it is not easy to achieve compliance without rocking the boat.

Rock the boat John, rock it bloody hard till some common sense is released into their Cephalic “Doing’s”. These people are paid good public money to do a job. Infection control is part of that job, we do our bit so what’s their bloody problem.

LIII

I find that those given the responsibility of looking after equipment, in general ward areas particularly, are usually Nursing Assistants or junior Nursing staff. Neither of these groups seem to be given adequate support, training or access to information regarding the care and management of equipment whilst in use and tasks such as decontamination are apparently taken too lightly. Is the provision of training and enforcement a role for EBME or Medical Physics? I don't think so.

Plus, the age-old problem, in the so-called National Health Service; there don't seem to be any globally accepted, enforced, procedures in hospitals around the country, for clinical staff, dealing with this. They have enough difficulty gettting clinicians to wash their hands and stop eating lunch in theatres..... Lots of guidelines and advice but very little in the way of prodding to make sure that good practice is established. Leaving those that are motivated and want to sort things out, rocking the boat.

Setting up a chain of paper and ensuring the relevant paperwork is signed is all very good - as long as it is actually used as evidence to pin down those individuals that are not doing what's required of them.