EBME Forums Forums Management Equipment Libraries Libraries And Decontamination

Morning Geoff,

We use Huntleigh/Pegasus,at the moment, because we stock their mattresses. Currently, approx. £120 per mattress decontamination.
We have been given a price by a different OEM mattress manufacturer, who will clean any mattress, which is considerably lower than our current cost.
Whilst we are still costing this exercise, I will keep the quotes under my hat... for the moment.

Cheers

Sounds like a nice opportunity for someone to start up a new business there, Mate. I see plenty of semi-derelict (and derelict) large sheds around. Buy a couple of vans, hire some staff, and away we go. Anybody fancy having a crack at it?

I think some market research is required first Geoff, but i think you could be on to a winner.

Does anyone have a job description for a 'decontamination manager'. I think it is quite a new idea, so not expecting lots of replies, but worth asking if it will save me a job.

Hi All

We have a very good equipment library over here in Wigan, A & C co-ordinators and 3 porter/cleaning staff supplying infusion devices, monitoring, Bariatric equipment and also clean pressure relieving mattresses for all the wards. They strip down the mattresses wash/dry covers and manually clean the main mattress body before re-assembly. The store has won local prizes for service improvements in our trust and the users like the service. Some mattress types can be wholly washed in a washer so it might be an advantage to source a large washing machine for this purpose to cut down on the manual handling. We use our van to deliver to other premises off the main site. There is also the QA side to consider, possible swabbing, monitoring of wash temperature & time to ensure all the bugs are dead and the choice of cleaning agents. The store also has the equipment trainer based there.
If anyone is up this way you could arrange a visit and look around.

Hi Lee,

What area have you set aside for cleaning the main body of mattresses and how have you kitted it out?

Our concern is that we would need a dedicated area for this exercise and a lot of stainless steel work-tops. Some mattresses, once the covers have been punctured and body fluids have got in, are somewhat... ripe.

Our Mop Laundry will be able to wash the covers.

Cheers

Hello Lee,

Who manages the cleaning/decontamination (Still don't know the difference, I always thought cleaning was decontaminating...)
and how is it managed? Do you use work instructions? Is it part of your quality system? etc.

regards

John.

Please send me any funny/ incredulous stories/incidents/photos and "what's occurring!" in the world of decontamination please I want them for the Blackpool forum - we are doing a lighthearted but also a "LOOK at what we are up against!" scenario on the day!
All contributions appreciated! Contact Jo Lee 01253 303257
joanne.lee@bfwhospitals.nhs.uk
Ta

Well we were! No one sent anything so now we aint!

Hi John
Did your Equipment Library get up and running? We've been asked to set one up which would be responsible for decontaminating equipment ie taking the responsibility off of the clinical staff.

I know John Sandham was talking about setting up a similar venture recently, how did that John get on?

Lee

Hi All,
I know many many moons have passed since this topic has been discussed but i can't help myself from blowing the dust off it...

I am very intrigued as to how much OEM's are charging for their mattress decontamination, as one of the posts on here mentioned Huntleigh (now ArjoHuntleigh) were charging £120 per mattress decontamination....and we're going back 5 years on this!!

I run my own business in which mattress decontamination & repair equates to around 60% of our through-put, this includes collection, decontamination (which is a thorough set-up & not just a wipe down facility),repair if necessary & then return to customer......our charges to date is way less than 50% of the previously mentioned £120 mark!!

We are only a small business based in Yorkshire so I'm not posing to be the next Arjo or anything....

So anyway, a couple of questions would be:

1, We are starting attempts to break out into 'main stream' NHS,
would there be any of you guys on here that would be interested in sending a few of your 'nasties' to us for decontamination....This would be on a free of charge basis. All we ask in return is a bit of written HONEST feedback from you guys that may help us when it comes to tendering.

2, Advertising: Does any form of commercial advertising exist on the EBME site? If so, could anyone shed light on this & also a honest opinion/answer to: ' If i was to advertise on EBME, do you think it would raise the interest based on our business dealings'?

Cheers guys, look forward to hearing from you.
If there's anything you think might cause upset by posting publicly, feel free to drop me a PM ;-)