Decontamination: under the spotlight

The scientific programme of the annual Institute of Decontamination Sciences (IDSc) conference will include a variety of speakers, covering all aspects of decontamination, including innovations in reprocessing methods, new technologies, equipment development and the application of patient safety standards and practices. The event marks the end of Val O’Brien’s role as national chairman of IDSc and she will be handing over to Geoff Sjogren, decontamination manager at Royal West Sussex NHS Trust. At the same time, Robert Spence will step down as president and will hand over the reins to Adam Fraise, director of infection prevention and control at City Hospital, Birmingham. Part of the remit of the institute is to promote and encourage research and development in matters relating to decontamination services and the conference programme is a testament to the active collaboration between hospital decontamination specialists and industry which is a unique aspect of this event. IDSc members include sterile services personnel at all levels, endoscopy staff, microbiologists, infection control, theatre staff and engineers, with members coming from the NHS and private sectors.

The Dutch perspective

This year, Philip de Vries, an expert in medical devices from the Netherlands, will start the first plenary session of the event with a presentation entitled ‘The decontamination lead – Dutch perspective’ offering delegates some firsthand experiences of the present decontamination scene in the Netherlands. Mr de Vries will be followed by two surgeons who will conduct an interesting debate from an orthopaedic perspective for and against single-use products in one of the most demanding areas of surgery. Kevin Baird, consultant orthopaedic surgeon at Highlands Trust Board, Scotland and Andrew Thomas, consultant orthopaedic surgeon at the Royal Orthopaedic Hospital in Birmingham, will each develop a case to persuade delegates to back them. The audience will then be asked to make a decision, based on these arguments. On the second day of the event, a number of sessions will focus on ‘new approaches’. Professor Bill Keevil, head of the Microbiology Group and director of the Environmental Healthcare Unit, at the University of Southampton will discuss a new scientific approach to CJD. Dr Brian Kirk, senior technical advisor at 3M Healthcare will focus on new developments in sterilisation, while Dr Gerald McDonnell, vice-president of Regulatory Affairs at Steris UK will conduct a session entitled ‘Clean or dirty?’ The third plenary session will focus on standards, with contributions from Richard Bancroft, development and technical service director at Browne international. A speaker from the BSI will then look at the subject of policy development. This session will be concluded with a presentation from Tracey Cooper, president of the Infection Prevention Society entitled ‘Developing an organisational framework for decontamination of medical devices – Experiences within a Trust.’ The final day of the event will focus on innovations, with four conference sessions from industry covering a variety of areas of innovation, including the use of ultraviolet decontamination technologies. This will be followed by a closing address from Carole Fry, nursing officer, communicable diseases at the Department of Health, who will share her experiences with the audience. As in previous years, the IDSc event will be supported by a full complement of exhibitors, giving delegates the opportunity to view and discuss a wide range of the latest decontamination products and services under one roof.