How to achieve sterilization success in your healthcare facility

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Meta Description: If you want your facility to be sterilized successfully, it takes careful planning and organizational changes.

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Sterilizing medical devices is essential for protecting patients and controlling the spread of infectious diseases. Unfortunately, medical facilities are struggling to do it properly. Figures collected by The Joint Commission’s Office of Quality and Patient Safety found that 74 percent of immediate threats to life in hospital settings had to do with poor sterilization practices.

Sterilizing medical devices is critical for protecting patients and preventing the spread of infectious diseases. Unfortunately, hospitals are struggling to sterilize medical devices properly. Figures collected by the Joint Commission’s Office of Quality and Patient Safety show that 74 percent of threats to life in hospital settings were caused by poor sterilization practices.

The rates of non-compliance with the infection control standard were much higher than you might think. 51 percent of hospitals, 58 percent of critical access hospitals, and 53 percent of office-based surgeries regularly failed to perform the tasks required by the Infection Prevention and Control Standard IC 02.02.01.

Fortunately, the report explains why compliance rates are so low and, therefore, what medical professionals can do to improve the situation. Here are some things you can do to help your staff properly sterilize your facility.

Adopt A Culture Of Safety That Supports The Reporting Of Safety Risks

Consequently, medical professionals won’t report safety concerns if they feel pressured to keep quiet. Managers and leaders need to create a workplace where employees are willing to speak up when they have concerns.

Put discussion about sterilization at the top of your planning meetings. Point out that unsafe practices in this area are leading causes of death. Talk about how failing to implement safety measures can cause harm to the company’s image, damage its reputation, cause legal actions, cause a problem to the health care system, and cause the CMPS to be unable to award benefits.

Use The Correct Procedures

There are many different sterilization techniques that medical professionals can use, depending on the type of medical equipment and its environment. Cleaning sterilizer chambers is very different from cleaning surgical instruments.

There are many different types of cleaning materials that medical professionals can use. Hot steam, dry heat, ethylene oxide gas, chlorine dioxide gas, radiation, and vaporized peracetic acid are all possible options for sterilizing equipment. But different cleaning methods work depending on the environment, the equipment being cleaned, and the materials being cleaned. But none of these methods work consistently, especially when you consider the toxicological effects of some of them.

Some medical professionals simply don’t have the right information or training about proper cleaning methods. They may even do the wrong thing by not cleaning certain items thoroughly. They may use the wrong cleaning method or fail to disinfect items properly, putting patients in danger.

It is important for staff to receive proper training before they start cleaning items. Alternatively, you may want to simply label each item clearly with the preferred cleaning method and instruct staff to follow the instructions as they appear.

Prioritize Disinfection

Hospitals should give disinfection as much importance as possible on a daily basis. Staff should know that preparing for the upcoming patient is as important as putting away equipment or taking care of another patient.

It’s important to get leadership on board with this. Leaders should show what middle-level managers and employees can expect from them.

Brief Teams On The Latest Sterilization Guidelines

Check that staff members are able to understand sterilization guidelines before they start work. If there are many staff members in your organization, give them clear instructions on how to properly care for their items. This will help them to keep themselves safe and will also help you avoid costly repairs in the long term.

Follow the instructions from the equipment manufacturers at the worksite. When staff leave a site, they will be reminded of the procedures that are to be followed. Always be sure that you have someone available to give you some assistance, particularly if you have lots of staff.

When you hire a company like us at Preventative Medical Maintenance, we will provide you with the equipment and services you need to successfully sterilize your patient. Visit our website link above for more information!