SUZANNE CALLANDER reports on the evidence that supports the use of ATP bioluminescence testing for the validation of decontamination processes in endoscopy units and sterile services departments.
Hospital acquired infections are costly for the NHS and can have far-reaching and long-term consequences for the patient. It is therefore vital to reduce the possibility of any crosscontamination from endoscopes, surgical instruments and other medical devices and equipment. For this reason all reusable devices that have been used on a patient need to be thoroughly decontaminated between each use.
Health Technical Memorandum (HTM) 2030 (revised CFPP 0106/CFPP 0101) offers guidance on the choice, specification, purchase, installation, validation, periodic testing, operation and maintenance of washer disinfectors, automated endoscope reprocessors and sterilisers in use in the NHS for processing medical devices. The guidance advises that testing be carried out on a regular basis to validate the effectiveness of decontamination equipment, and it also advises on a suitable regime for this validation testing.
Residual soil testing
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