The Principles of Medical Device Decontamination

replacement and disposal plans.

The medical device management groups’ membership should be determined locally according to organisational needs, however may include representatives from these areas:

• Clinical • Biomedical engineering • Management • Infection control • Decontamination lead • Risk management • Engineering / Maintenance • Purchasing

• Medical Device Trainers • Medical Device Users • Medical Devices Safety Officers (MDSO)

The policy should define clear roles and responsibilities for the devices including ownership, replacement, record keeping, decontamination, deployment, tracking and utilisation, training of staff and access to manufacturers’ instructions for use (IFUs).

Acquisition

The selection and introduction of medical devices into an organisation needs to be based on several factors. These factors include clinical need, whole life cycle costs, existing equipment in circulation (standardisation considerations), national acquisition policy and any framework agreements in existence, and more recently the green agenda which has been recognised internationally as an important issue for humanity. It is important to understand that healthcare organisations can be held responsible, under health and safety law and civil liability in the event that a patient or member of staff suffered personal injury or damage, or worse, died, as a result of inappropriate purchase or prescription of a device.

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