The Principles of Medical Device Decontamination

If inadequately decontaminated medical devices are used in a patient’s operation it can result in operations delayed, infections and possibly have life changing experiences. Therefore, it is essential that decontamination personnel are trained, competent and educated to reduce this risk to patient safety. Decontamination units should have an induction programme that will be based on their organisations policy, with addition of the specific requirements for the department. This must be a documented program and will include the specific Health and Safety aspects and all tasks to be performed by the staff member and delivered by competent qualified staff. All staff including managers should have individual training files (including competency assessments) in accordance with the departmental quality system, international standards and relevant legislation. Current training programmes recommended by the Institute of Decontamination Science (IDSc) 1. The apprenticeship programme 12 (England only) is funded by a levy introduced by the government to improve training and competencies of staff. All companies meeting certain criteria must pay into this fund. Therefore, to the organisation the apprenticeship is ‘free,’ however, there are certain criteria that must be met including 20% off work learning and the requirement to pass an End Point Assessment (EPA) at the end of the programme. The EPA is conducted by competent assessors by an awarding body such as the National School of Healthcare Science. Apprenticeships training can be provided by approved commercial training providers or further education colleges. 2. Healthcare science assistant (level 2) 13 —is designed for staff joining the decontamination unit and existing staff working at technician level. It covers the basic knowledge and competency of the apprentice in their workplace, whilst understanding best practice. The course takes between 12 and 15 months to complete. The candidate works through a mixture of generic healthcare science modules in addition to ones focused on decontamination. 3. IDSc Technical certificate 14 - This programme is levelled at a level 3 (England, Wales & Northern Ireland) and a level 6 (Scotland). This course builds on the knowledge gained from level 2 apprenticeship programme. This qualification is a theory, exam based on-line course run by the Institute of Decontamination Science (IDSc). The course is designed for supervisors or senior technicians

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