IHEEM Decontamination Technical Advice: Drying Function Validation and Endoscope Reprocessing

This guidance paper has been developed in response to several incidents where endoscopes were found to remain wet after more than three hours in Controlled Environment Storage Cabinets that were designed and validated to provide a drying function. These issues were most commonly identified during vacuum bagging following extended cabinet storage. The paper outlines the challenges associated with endoscope drying, clarifies expectations set out in BS EN 16442 and HTM 01‑06, and provides guidance applicable to all current and future systems that claim to dry endoscopes internally and externally within the required timeframes.