Meta Description: Being able to sterilize patients effectively in your healthcare facility requires careful organization, culture change, and a willingness to accept guidelines.
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 patient safety and controlling the spread of infectious diseases. Unfortunately, hospitals are struggling to sterilize medical devices properly. Figures from the Joint Commission’s Office of Quality and Patient Safety show that 74 percent of immediate threats to life in hospital settings have to do with 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.
It is difficult to understand why compliance rates are so low, but the report explains why these compliance rates are so low and what medical professionals can do to improve them. Here are some things you can do to help staff sterilize at your practice.
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.
Make sure sterilization is a high priority for everyone at your meetings. Talk about the fact that lack of compliance in this area is a leading cause of death for medical professionals. 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
Sterilization techniques for various medical equipment can vary greatly from one place to another. Sterilizer chamber cleaning is 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.
Unfortunately, many medical professionals do not have adequate knowledge or training in how to clean the right items. They may use the wrong cleaning method or do not disinfect the equipment properly. They may use the wrong cleaning method or fail to disinfect items properly, putting patients in danger.
It is also important to train staff in the correct ways to clean certain 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.
Leadership should be convinced that disinfection is very important. Leaders should show what middle-level managers and employees can expect from them.
Brief Teams On The Latest Sterilization Guidelines
You may wish to brief staff on sterilization guidelines. These guide team members on how to effectively handle their possessions. These help people know how to properly store and maintain the equipment they have in their possession. They will also help prevent costly repairs in the long term.
Leave instructions from the manufacturers close by, in case any staff members need to know something about this. Always be sure that you have someone available to give you some assistance, particularly if you have lots of staff.
Employing a company like us at Preventative Medical Maintenance will help you with the equipment and services that you need to sterilize your patient successfully. Visit our website link above for more information!