IPC 4.6 Decontamination of patient equipment

Contents

 Decontamination of non-invasive care equipment guidance
 References
 Record of changes

 

Decontamination of non-invasive care equipment guidance

Patient care equipment must be cleaned:

• Between each use/between patients.
• Any blood or bodily fluid contamination.
• Regular predefined intervals.
• Before inspection, servicing, and repair with a completed decontamination certificate

Follow safe management of care equipment:

• NHS England » Chapter 1: Standard infection control precautions (SICPs)
• Appendix 7 (england.nhs.uk)

The manufacturer’s guidance should always be followed when decontaminating any equipment. All cleaning products must be used and stored safely, 16.06 Control of Substances Hazardous to Health.

A risk assessment for the use of Personal Protective equipment (PPE) to be made before the decontamination of the care equipment NHS England » Chapter 1: Standard infection control precautions (SICPs)

Minimum cleaning frequencies should be considered for each piece of equipment to ensure a minimum standard of cleanliness. This should be agreed locally. Evidence of cleaning may be requested as part of Care Quality Commission inspections, IPC audits, and Root Cause Analysis investigations. It is recommended, therefore, that evidence such a signature lists are maintained to provide assurances of cleaning. Staff should also consider a system of labelling equipment after cleaning has taken place to provide visible assurances and evidence of cleaning.

 

References

• NHS England (2022, updated 2024) National infection prevention and control manual (NIPCM) for England. Available at: NHS England » National infection prevention and control manual (NIPCM) for England (Accessed 27 June 2024).

 

Record of changes

Date	Author	Policy	Detail of change
November 2006	S Marshall/ T O’Donovan	CL/CP/11	Policy completely re-written
April 2008	S Marshall/ T O’Donovan	CL/CP/11	Addition of appendix 1 to 3 and renumbering of subsequent appendices
February 2010	A Kirkland	18.01	Changes throughout policy
January 2014	J Patrickson-Daly /S Smith	18.01 (Issue 6)	Changes throughout policy
October 2014	Patrickson-Daly	18.01 (Issue 7)	Amendment to section 6.5.1 and 6.5.2
May 2016	Patrickson-Daly	18.01 (Issue 8)	References updated. Addition of 6.1.3 4.6, 6.1.2, 6.5.7 wording changed Appendix 1 replaced
June 2020	Carol Evans	18.01 (Issue 9)	Review of document, minor changes to 1.1 - date of Review of the HSCA 5.3.2 Removal of “Formally known as Medical Devices Agency” 6.4 Typo Root Course Analysis instead of “Cause” Amendment to reviewer name.
April 2021	Lauren West	18.01 (Issue 9)	Reference number changed to 07.01
July 2023	I Brackenridge	07.01 (Issue 10)	Previous policy number (18.01) removed from front page. ‘Exceptional Circumstances’ section added (Item 17.0) as per agreement reached by the Trustwide Clinical Policies and Procedures Group (CPPG) members at meeting on 07 June 2023. Review date of policy extended from July 2023 until December 2023 - approved by CPPG on 05 July 2023. Associated Trust Policies and Procedures list updated with correct numbers. Correction of policy names/numbers at Items 6.3, 6.5.2, 6.5.3 and 12.0
January 2024	S Clarke	07.01 (Issue 11)	Policy review date extended from December 2023 until June 2024 as approved by CPPG on 10 January 2024 to enable development of IPC Manual. APPEN
July 2024	Infection Prevention Control Team		Revised and edited the policy, now a guideline.