Select Page

Cleaning and disinfection of Dialysis machine

Home Forums Infexion Connexion Cleaning and disinfection of Dialysis machine

 | Click to Receive Email Notifications of Posts
Viewing 6 posts - 1 through 6 (of 6 total)
  • Author
    Posts
  • #77683
    Anonymous
    Inactive

    Author:
    Anonymous

    Position:

    Organisation:

    State:

    HI everyone

    Our healthcare service recently installed new dialysis machines across a wide area. Unfortunately there was no consultation with infection prevention and control for advice on managing the infection risk of the machines, in particular cleaning and disinfection.

    The manufactures instruction for use (IFU) recommend Ethanol (60% to 70%) Isopropanol 60% . There is a further large warning in the IFU stating clearly that only these 2 disinfectants are to be used to clean the touch screen. The rest of the machine maybe cleaned and disinfected with 2 in 1 wipe used in most hospitals .

    The IFU do not provide sufficient information or guidance on cleaning the Touch Screen to prevent damage and voiding warranty. The Touch Screen is the most frequently touched area of equipment and likely to become highly contaminated with pathogens from healthcare worker hands. Therefore cleaning and disinfection between patients to prevent healthcare associated infections in this vulnerable high risk group is vital. The IFU describes the disinfection process but not the cleaning process.

    The Australian Guidelines for the Prevention and Control of Infection in Healthcare NHMRC 2019 – Page 59 which states:

    Physical (mechanical or manual) cleaning is the most important step in cleaning. Sole reliance
    on a disinfectant without physical cleaning is therefore not recommended

    Given that these machines are currently installed and in use and the company representatives maintain that only alcohol is to be used to clean the touch screen, I was wondering if anyone else had a similar experience and would share with me how you managed the situation.

    After all we all know cleaning and disinfection is vital in preventing the transmission of pathogens ,no more so during this COVID-19 Pandemic.

    Thanks very much
    Cate Coffey
    RN BaAScN MPH&TM Grad Cert Infection Control Nursing
    Clinical Nurse Manager

    Central Australia Health Service
    Department of Health
    Northern Territory Government

    Infection Prevention and Control Unit
    Alice Springs Hospital
    PO Box 2234, Alice Springs, NT 0871
    cate.coffey@nt.gov.au

    t. 08 8951 7737
    http://www.health.nt.gov.au

    MESSAGES POSTED TO THIS LIST ARE SOLELY THE OPINION OF THE AUTHOR, AND DO NOT REPRESENT THE OPINION OF ACIPC.

    The use of trade/product/commercial brand names through the list is discouraged by ACIPC. If you wish to discuss specific reference to products or services by brand or commercial names, please do this outside the list.

    Archive of all messages are available at http://aicalist.org.au/archives – registration and login required.

    Replies to this message will be directed back to the list. To create a new message send an email to acipclist@acipc.org.au

    To send a message to the list administrator send an email to admin@acipc.org.au

    You can unsubscribe manually from this list by sending ‘signoff acipclist’ (without the quotes) to listserv@aicalist.org.au

    #77691
    Helen Vertoudakis
    Participant

    Author:
    Helen Vertoudakis

    Position:
    Director

    Organisation:
    Vert Health

    State:

    Hi Cate
    Unfortunately, this is not the only type of equipment that I’ve heard cannot be cleaned properly – or has restrictions by the manufacturer on disinfection recommendations due to the nature of these screens. If damaged, the manufacturer can more often than not often tell by the nature of damage caused what type of product has been used – so, it’s a difficult situation.

    One way around this is to cover the touch screen, say with clear screening – something like you may use on your computer or mobile – depending on the type of clear screen – can be removed and replaced with fresh one for each patient and the touch screen can still have the disinfectant between each patient before the new clear screen/or cleaned and disinfected screen is attached.

    Otherwise, do they recommended to use microfiber on the screen? Could wet a good quality microfiber cloth with the disinfectant- that way, at least the cloth can give some of the cleaning action required. If using a disinfectant on the cloth – the cloth lifetime will diminish more quickly than simply using with water- microfiber manufacturer should have some detail about this.
    Hope this helps….
    Helen

    [cid:image002.jpg@01D6F954.F25ABBD0]
    Innovate for a Healthier Future

    Helen Vertoudakis | Director | Vert Health
    helen@verthealth.com.au | Ph +61 433 027 373 |
    PO Box 536 Broadway NSW Australia 2007
    http://www.verthealth.com.au

    [cid:image003.png@01D6F8A1.0768F370]
    [cid:image004.png@01D6F8A1.0768F370]
    [cid:image005.png@01D6F8A1.0768F370]
    [cid:image006.png@01D6F8A1.0768F370]

    Please consider our environment before printing this e-mail
    This e-mail and any files transmitted with it are confidential and intended solely for the use of the individual or entity to
    whom they are addressed. If you have received this e-mail in error please notify the sender. Vert Health does not accept liability
    in connection with any computer virus, data corruption, delay, interruption, or unauthorised access and amendment.

    HI everyone

    Our healthcare service recently installed new dialysis machines across a wide area. Unfortunately there was no consultation with infection prevention and control for advice on managing the infection risk of the machines, in particular cleaning and disinfection.

    The manufactures instruction for use (IFU) recommend Ethanol (60% to 70%) Isopropanol 60% . There is a further large warning in the IFU stating clearly that only these 2 disinfectants are to be used to clean the touch screen. The rest of the machine maybe cleaned and disinfected with 2 in 1 wipe used in most hospitals .

    The IFU do not provide sufficient information or guidance on cleaning the Touch Screen to prevent damage and voiding warranty. The Touch Screen is the most frequently touched area of equipment and likely to become highly contaminated with pathogens from healthcare worker hands. Therefore cleaning and disinfection between patients to prevent healthcare associated infections in this vulnerable high risk group is vital. The IFU describes the disinfection process but not the cleaning process.

    The Australian Guidelines for the Prevention and Control of Infection in Healthcare NHMRC 2019 – Page 59 which states:

    Physical (mechanical or manual) cleaning is the most important step in cleaning. Sole reliance
    on a disinfectant without physical cleaning is therefore not recommended

    Given that these machines are currently installed and in use and the company representatives maintain that only alcohol is to be used to clean the touch screen, I was wondering if anyone else had a similar experience and would share with me how you managed the situation.

    After all we all know cleaning and disinfection is vital in preventing the transmission of pathogens ,no more so during this COVID-19 Pandemic.

    Thanks very much
    Cate Coffey
    RN BaAScN MPH&TM Grad Cert Infection Control Nursing
    Clinical Nurse Manager

    Central Australia Health Service
    Department of Health
    Northern Territory Government

    Infection Prevention and Control Unit
    Alice Springs Hospital
    PO Box 2234, Alice Springs, NT 0871
    cate.coffey@nt.gov.au

    t. 08 8951 7737
    http://www.health.nt.gov.au

    MESSAGES POSTED TO THIS LIST ARE SOLELY THE OPINION OF THE AUTHOR, AND DO NOT REPRESENT THE OPINION OF ACIPC.

    The use of trade/product/commercial brand names through the list is discouraged by ACIPC. If you wish to discuss specific reference to products or services by brand or commercial names, please do this outside the list.

    Archive of all messages are available at http://aicalist.org.au/archives – registration and login required.

    Replies to this message will be directed back to the list. To create a new message send an email to acipclist@acipc.org.au

    To send a message to the list administrator send an email to admin@acipc.org.au

    You can unsubscribe manually from this list by sending ‘signoff acipclist’ (without the quotes) to listserv@aicalist.org.au

    MESSAGES POSTED TO THIS LIST ARE SOLELY THE OPINION OF THE AUTHOR, AND DO NOT REPRESENT THE OPINION OF ACIPC.

    The use of trade/product/commercial brand names through the list is discouraged by ACIPC. If you wish to discuss specific reference to products or services by brand or commercial names, please do this outside the list.

    Archive of all messages are available at http://aicalist.org.au/archives – registration and login required.

    Replies to this message will be directed back to the list. To create a new message send an email to acipclist@acipc.org.au

    To send a message to the list administrator send an email to admin@acipc.org.au

    You can unsubscribe manually from this list by sending ‘signoff acipclist’ (without the quotes) to listserv@aicalist.org.au

    #77692
    kate.ryan@austin.org.au
    Participant

    Author:
    kate.ryan@austin.org.au

    Position:

    Organisation:

    State:

    Hi Cate,
    I am not going to be helpful in suggesting a solution for you! What I would like to do is use your example to encourage everyone needing to meet the needs of AS/NZ 4187 to push back on medical devices manufacturers and suppliers to ensure there are cleaning/disinfection/sterilisation options provided that are available in Australia and are TGA approved.

    Since I started in my role a year ago, I have been contacting many companies to request that they provide a suitable Australian reprocessing option when none is given in the IFU. For the most part they have been particularly helpful, and have gone on to provide me with letters of approval to use the products we have in our hospital, or they have gone as far as doing proper compatibility testing and updating their IFUs as a result.

    For those few that are unwilling to engage in the conversation, we have informed them that we will not be using their product in future once the existing requires replacement, or if a new product, that we will not be able to purchase from them at all. At the same time I am in the process of tightening up our purchasing policy to ensure that RMDs, and reprocessing equipment can’t be purchased unless they meet strict criteria, namely that they can be reprocessed using the products/equipment we have available.

    If we all start pushing back on industry to do their part to enable safe and effective reprocessing, we might start to make change. So I would suggest that you go back to the dialysis supplier and suggest that it is their role to provide an option as per section 3 of AS/NZ 4187, and that alcohol is not a TGA approved product for RMDs.

    Kind regards

    Kate Ryan

    RMD Program Officer

    [logo_austin]

    0434 609 208 | 03 9496 6706

    Infectious Diseases Department

    Level 7, Harold Stokes Building

    145 Studley Road, Heidelberg

    PO Box 5555, Victoria, 3084

    ________________________________

    EXTERNAL EMAIL: Do not click links or open attachments unless you recognise the sender and know the content is safe. If you are unsure please contact service.desk@austin.org.au.

    ________________________________

    HI everyone

    Our healthcare service recently installed new dialysis machines across a wide area. Unfortunately there was no consultation with infection prevention and control for advice on managing the infection risk of the machines, in particular cleaning and disinfection.

    The manufactures instruction for use (IFU) recommend Ethanol (60% to 70%) Isopropanol 60% . There is a further large warning in the IFU stating clearly that only these 2 disinfectants are to be used to clean the touch screen. The rest of the machine maybe cleaned and disinfected with 2 in 1 wipe used in most hospitals .

    The IFU do not provide sufficient information or guidance on cleaning the Touch Screen to prevent damage and voiding warranty. The Touch Screen is the most frequently touched area of equipment and likely to become highly contaminated with pathogens from healthcare worker hands. Therefore cleaning and disinfection between patients to prevent healthcare associated infections in this vulnerable high risk group is vital. The IFU describes the disinfection process but not the cleaning process.

    The Australian Guidelines for the Prevention and Control of Infection in Healthcare NHMRC 2019 Page 59 which states:

    Physical (mechanical or manual) cleaning is the most important step in cleaning. Sole reliance

    on a disinfectant without physical cleaning is therefore not recommended

    Given that these machines are currently installed and in use and the company representatives maintain that only alcohol is to be used to clean the touch screen, I was wondering if anyone else had a similar experience and would share with me how you managed the situation.

    After all we all know cleaning and disinfection is vital in preventing the transmission of pathogens ,no more so during this COVID-19 Pandemic.

    Thanks very much

    Cate Coffey

    RN BaAScN MPH&TM Grad Cert Infection Control Nursing

    Clinical Nurse Manager

    Central Australia Health Service

    Department of Health

    Northern Territory Government

    Infection Prevention and Control Unit

    Alice Springs Hospital
    PO Box 2234, Alice Springs, NT 0871

    cate.coffey@nt.gov.au

    t. 08 8951 7737

    http://www.health.nt.gov.au

    MESSAGES POSTED TO THIS LIST ARE SOLELY THE OPINION OF THE AUTHOR, AND DO NOT REPRESENT THE OPINION OF ACIPC.

    The use of trade/product/commercial brand names through the list is discouraged by ACIPC. If you wish to discuss specific reference to products or services by brand or commercial names, please do this outside the list.

    Archive of all messages are available at http://aicalist.org.au/archives – registration and login required.

    Replies to this message will be directed back to the list. To create a new message send an email to acipclist@acipc.org.au

    To send a message to the list administrator send an email to admin@acipc.org.au

    You can unsubscribe manually from this list by sending ‘signoff acipclist’ (without the quotes) to listserv@aicalist.org.au

    MESSAGES POSTED TO THIS LIST ARE SOLELY THE OPINION OF THE AUTHOR, AND DO NOT REPRESENT THE OPINION OF ACIPC.

    The use of trade/product/commercial brand names through the list is discouraged by ACIPC. If you wish to discuss specific reference to products or services by brand or commercial names, please do this outside the list.

    Archive of all messages are available at http://aicalist.org.au/archives – registration and login required.

    Replies to this message will be directed back to the list. To create a new message send an email to acipclist@acipc.org.au

    To send a message to the list administrator send an email to admin@acipc.org.au

    You can unsubscribe manually from this list by sending ‘signoff acipclist’ (without the quotes) to listserv@aicalist.org.au

    #77694
    Andrew Ellis
    Participant

    Author:
    Andrew Ellis

    Position:
    State Coordinator, Sterilisation & Reprocessing

    Organisation:
    SA Health

    State:

    Well said Kate.

    I won’t rehash the sentiment at length here but I have also taken this approach with RMDs at a local network and wider level, including requiring vendors to provide supplementary IFUs, where the original IFU was either arbitrary/unrealistic, or was limited to international cycles which don’t prevail in Australia and would require additional validation to perform here (see: steriliser cycle parameters).

    One of the most common problems I have run into when resolving IFU conflicts is obtaining a reliable statement of compliance from the vendor e.g. “we can confirm that the process you have proposed will deliver a product compliant versus national standards” etc, and not a statement like “while this may decrease the life of the device, we confirm that it will not affect warranty replacement” – which is a very different offering and often conflated in the procurement process.

    A conflict between the supplier’s IFU and the organisation’s reprocessing resources is a risk which has to be held or eliminated by one of the parties. If the supplier cannot or will not resolve it at the product realisation stage then that is a consideration for the organisation going ahead.

    Regards,

    Andrew Ellis
    Sterilising and Reusable Medical Device Reprocessing State Coordinator
    Infection Control Service | Communicable Disease Control Branch
    Health Regulation & Protection
    Department for Health and Wellbeing | Government of South Australia
    Level 13 | 25 Grenfell Street | Adelaide SA 5000
    HCW infection prevention: http://www.sahealth.sa.gov.au/infectionprevention
    General public: http://www.sahealth.sa.gov.au/hospitalinfections

    This email may contain confidential information, which also may be legally privileged. Only the intended recipient(s) may access, use, distribute or copy this email. If this email is received in error, please inform the sender by return email and delete the original. If there are doubts about the validity of this message, please contact the sender by telephone. It is the recipient’s responsibility to check the email and any attached files for viruses.

    Hi Cate,
    I am not going to be helpful in suggesting a solution for you! What I would like to do is use your example to encourage everyone needing to meet the needs of AS/NZ 4187 to push back on medical devices manufacturers and suppliers to ensure there are cleaning/disinfection/sterilisation options provided that are available in Australia and are TGA approved.

    Since I started in my role a year ago, I have been contacting many companies to request that they provide a suitable Australian reprocessing option when none is given in the IFU. For the most part they have been particularly helpful, and have gone on to provide me with letters of approval to use the products we have in our hospital, or they have gone as far as doing proper compatibility testing and updating their IFUs as a result.

    For those few that are unwilling to engage in the conversation, we have informed them that we will not be using their product in future once the existing requires replacement, or if a new product, that we will not be able to purchase from them at all. At the same time I am in the process of tightening up our purchasing policy to ensure that RMDs, and reprocessing equipment can’t be purchased unless they meet strict criteria, namely that they can be reprocessed using the products/equipment we have available.

    If we all start pushing back on industry to do their part to enable safe and effective reprocessing, we might start to make change. So I would suggest that you go back to the dialysis supplier and suggest that it is their role to provide an option as per section 3 of AS/NZ 4187, and that alcohol is not a TGA approved product for RMDs.

    Kind regards

    Kate Ryan

    RMD Program Officer

    [logo_austin]

    0434 609 208 | 03 9496 6706

    Infectious Diseases Department

    Level 7, Harold Stokes Building

    145 Studley Road, Heidelberg

    PO Box 5555, Victoria, 3084

    ________________________________

    EXTERNAL EMAIL: Do not click links or open attachments unless you recognise the sender and know the content is safe. If you are unsure please contact service.desk@austin.org.au.

    ________________________________

    HI everyone

    Our healthcare service recently installed new dialysis machines across a wide area. Unfortunately there was no consultation with infection prevention and control for advice on managing the infection risk of the machines, in particular cleaning and disinfection.

    The manufactures instruction for use (IFU) recommend Ethanol (60% to 70%) Isopropanol 60% . There is a further large warning in the IFU stating clearly that only these 2 disinfectants are to be used to clean the touch screen. The rest of the machine maybe cleaned and disinfected with 2 in 1 wipe used in most hospitals .

    The IFU do not provide sufficient information or guidance on cleaning the Touch Screen to prevent damage and voiding warranty. The Touch Screen is the most frequently touched area of equipment and likely to become highly contaminated with pathogens from healthcare worker hands. Therefore cleaning and disinfection between patients to prevent healthcare associated infections in this vulnerable high risk group is vital. The IFU describes the disinfection process but not the cleaning process.

    The Australian Guidelines for the Prevention and Control of Infection in Healthcare NHMRC 2019 – Page 59 which states:

    Physical (mechanical or manual) cleaning is the most important step in cleaning. Sole reliance

    on a disinfectant without physical cleaning is therefore not recommended

    Given that these machines are currently installed and in use and the company representatives maintain that only alcohol is to be used to clean the touch screen, I was wondering if anyone else had a similar experience and would share with me how you managed the situation.

    After all we all know cleaning and disinfection is vital in preventing the transmission of pathogens ,no more so during this COVID-19 Pandemic.

    Thanks very much

    Cate Coffey

    RN BaAScN MPH&TM Grad Cert Infection Control Nursing

    Clinical Nurse Manager

    Central Australia Health Service

    Department of Health

    Northern Territory Government

    Infection Prevention and Control Unit

    Alice Springs Hospital
    PO Box 2234, Alice Springs, NT 0871

    cate.coffey@nt.gov.au

    t. 08 8951 7737

    http://www.health.nt.gov.au

    MESSAGES POSTED TO THIS LIST ARE SOLELY THE OPINION OF THE AUTHOR, AND DO NOT REPRESENT THE OPINION OF ACIPC.

    The use of trade/product/commercial brand names through the list is discouraged by ACIPC. If you wish to discuss specific reference to products or services by brand or commercial names, please do this outside the list.

    Archive of all messages are available at http://aicalist.org.au/archives – registration and login required.

    Replies to this message will be directed back to the list. To create a new message send an email to acipclist@acipc.org.au

    To send a message to the list administrator send an email to admin@acipc.org.au

    You can unsubscribe manually from this list by sending ‘signoff acipclist’ (without the quotes) to listserv@aicalist.org.au
    MESSAGES POSTED TO THIS LIST ARE SOLELY THE OPINION OF THE AUTHOR, AND DO NOT REPRESENT THE OPINION OF ACIPC.

    The use of trade/product/commercial brand names through the list is discouraged by ACIPC. If you wish to discuss specific reference to products or services by brand or commercial names, please do this outside the list.

    Archive of all messages are available at http://aicalist.org.au/archives – registration and login required.

    Replies to this message will be directed back to the list. To create a new message send an email to acipclist@acipc.org.au

    To send a message to the list administrator send an email to admin@acipc.org.au

    You can unsubscribe manually from this list by sending ‘signoff acipclist’ (without the quotes) to listserv@aicalist.org.au

    MESSAGES POSTED TO THIS LIST ARE SOLELY THE OPINION OF THE AUTHOR, AND DO NOT REPRESENT THE OPINION OF ACIPC.

    The use of trade/product/commercial brand names through the list is discouraged by ACIPC. If you wish to discuss specific reference to products or services by brand or commercial names, please do this outside the list.

    Archive of all messages are available at http://aicalist.org.au/archives – registration and login required.

    Replies to this message will be directed back to the list. To create a new message send an email to acipclist@acipc.org.au

    To send a message to the list administrator send an email to admin@acipc.org.au

    You can unsubscribe manually from this list by sending ‘signoff acipclist’ (without the quotes) to listserv@aicalist.org.au

    #77699
    Michelle Bibby
    Participant

    Author:
    Michelle Bibby

    Position:
    ICN Self Employed

    Organisation:
    Infection Prevention Australia

    State:

    I concur thank you Kate

    My approach is the same for companies with regard to their SLAs and
    requirement for IQ, OQ and PQ of reprocessing equipment.

    Many product “specialists” are new in the field and not across the
    requirements of 4187, requiring up front payment and then not delivering

    So ask the question, don’t just assume they know what they are doing
    otherwise you will receive validation reports that are not compliant

    Regards

    Michelle

    Michelle Bibby

    Infection Prevention Australia

    0429071165

    michelle@infectionprevention.com.au

    http://www.infectionprevention.com.au

    Andrew (Health)
    Dialysis machine

    Well said Kate.

    I won’t rehash the sentiment at length here but I have also taken this
    approach with RMDs at a local network and wider level, including requiring
    vendors to provide supplementary IFUs, where the original IFU was either
    arbitrary/unrealistic, or was limited to international cycles which don’t
    prevail in Australia and would require additional validation to perform here
    (see: steriliser cycle parameters).

    One of the most common problems I have run into when resolving IFU conflicts
    is obtaining a reliable statement of compliance from the vendor e.g. “we can
    confirm that the process you have proposed will deliver a product compliant
    versus national standards” etc, and not a statement like “while this may
    decrease the life of the device, we confirm that it will not affect warranty
    replacement” – which is a very different offering and often conflated in the
    procurement process.

    A conflict between the supplier’s IFU and the organisation’s reprocessing
    resources is a risk which has to be held or eliminated by one of the
    parties. If the supplier cannot or will not resolve it at the product
    realisation stage then that is a consideration for the organisation going
    ahead.

    Regards,

    Andrew Ellis

    Sterilising and Reusable Medical Device Reprocessing State Coordinator
    Infection Control Service | Communicable Disease Control Branch
    Health Regulation & Protection
    Department for Health and Wellbeing | Government of South Australia

    Level 13 | 25 Grenfell Street | Adelaide SA 5000

    HCW infection prevention: http://www.sahealth.sa.gov.au/infectionprevention

    General public: http://www.sahealth.sa.gov.au/hospitalinfections

    This email may contain confidential information, which also may be legally
    privileged. Only the intended recipient(s) may access, use, distribute or
    copy this email. If this email is received in error, please inform the
    sender by return email and delete the original. If there are doubts about
    the validity of this message, please contact the sender by telephone. It is
    the recipient’s responsibility to check the email and any attached files for
    viruses.

    > On Behalf Of RYAN, Kate
    Dialysis machine

    Hi Cate,

    I am not going to be helpful in suggesting a solution for you! What I would
    like to do is use your example to encourage everyone needing to meet the
    needs of AS/NZ 4187 to push back on medical devices manufacturers and
    suppliers to ensure there are cleaning/disinfection/sterilisation options
    provided that are available in Australia and are TGA approved.

    Since I started in my role a year ago, I have been contacting many companies
    to request that they provide a suitable Australian reprocessing option when
    none is given in the IFU. For the most part they have been particularly
    helpful, and have gone on to provide me with letters of approval to use the
    products we have in our hospital, or they have gone as far as doing proper
    compatibility testing and updating their IFUs as a result.

    For those few that are unwilling to engage in the conversation, we have
    informed them that we will not be using their product in future once the
    existing requires replacement, or if a new product, that we will not be able
    to purchase from them at all. At the same time I am in the process of
    tightening up our purchasing policy to ensure that RMDs, and reprocessing
    equipment can’t be purchased unless they meet strict criteria, namely that
    they can be reprocessed using the products/equipment we have available.

    If we all start pushing back on industry to do their part to enable safe and
    effective reprocessing, we might start to make change. So I would suggest
    that you go back to the dialysis supplier and suggest that it is their role
    to provide an option as per section 3 of AS/NZ 4187, and that alcohol is not
    a TGA approved product for RMDs.

    Kind regards

    Kate Ryan

    RMD Program Officer

    0434 609 208 | 03 9496 6706

    Infectious Diseases Department

    Level 7, Harold Stokes Building

    145 Studley Road, Heidelberg

    PO Box 5555, Victoria, 3084

    _____

    > on behalf of Cate Coffey
    <Cate.Coffey@NT.GOV.AU >
    <ACIPCLIST@ACIPC.ORG.AU >
    machine

    EXTERNAL EMAIL: Do not click links or open attachments unless you recognise
    the sender and know the content is safe. If you are unsure please contact
    service.desk@austin.org.au .

    _____

    HI everyone

    Our healthcare service recently installed new dialysis machines across a
    wide area. Unfortunately there was no consultation with infection prevention
    and control for advice on managing the infection risk of the machines, in
    particular cleaning and disinfection.

    The manufactures instruction for use (IFU) recommend Ethanol (60% to 70%)
    Isopropanol 60% . There is a further large warning in the IFU stating
    clearly that only these 2 disinfectants are to be used to clean the touch
    screen. The rest of the machine maybe cleaned and disinfected with 2 in 1
    wipe used in most hospitals .

    The IFU do not provide sufficient information or guidance on cleaning the
    Touch Screen to prevent damage and voiding warranty. The Touch Screen is the
    most frequently touched area of equipment and likely to become highly
    contaminated with pathogens from healthcare worker hands. Therefore cleaning
    and disinfection between patients to prevent healthcare associated
    infections in this vulnerable high risk group is vital. The IFU describes
    the disinfection process but not the cleaning process.

    The Australian Guidelines for the Prevention and Control of Infection in
    Healthcare NHMRC 2019 – Page 59 which states:

    Physical (mechanical or manual) cleaning is the most important step in
    cleaning. Sole reliance

    on a disinfectant without physical cleaning is therefore not recommended

    Given that these machines are currently installed and in use and the
    company representatives maintain that only alcohol is to be used to clean
    the touch screen, I was wondering if anyone else had a similar experience
    and would share with me how you managed the situation.

    After all we all know cleaning and disinfection is vital in preventing the
    transmission of pathogens ,no more so during this COVID-19 Pandemic.

    Thanks very much

    Cate Coffey

    RN BaAScN MPH&TM Grad Cert Infection Control Nursing

    Clinical Nurse Manager

    Central Australia Health Service

    Department of Health

    Northern Territory Government

    Infection Prevention and Control Unit

    Alice Springs Hospital
    PO Box 2234, Alice Springs, NT 0871

    cate.coffey@nt.gov.au

    t. 08 8951 7737

    http://www.health.nt.gov.au

    MESSAGES POSTED TO THIS LIST ARE SOLELY THE OPINION OF THE AUTHOR, AND DO
    NOT REPRESENT THE OPINION OF ACIPC.

    The use of trade/product/commercial brand names through the list is
    discouraged by ACIPC. If you wish to discuss specific reference to products
    or services by brand or commercial names, please do this outside the list.

    Archive of all messages are available at http://aicalist.org.au/archives

    registration and login required.

    Replies to this message will be directed back to the list. To create a new
    message send an email to acipclist@acipc.org.au

    To send a message to the list administrator send an email to
    admin@acipc.org.au

    You can unsubscribe manually from this list by sending ‘signoff acipclist’
    (without the quotes) to listserv@aicalist.org.au

    MESSAGES POSTED TO THIS LIST ARE SOLELY THE OPINION OF THE AUTHOR, AND DO
    NOT REPRESENT THE OPINION OF ACIPC.

    The use of trade/product/commercial brand names through the list is
    discouraged by ACIPC. If you wish to discuss specific reference to products
    or services by brand or commercial names, please do this outside the list.

    Archive of all messages are available at http://aicalist.org.au/archives
    registration and login required.

    Replies to this message will be directed back to the list. To create a new
    message send an email to acipclist@acipc.org.au

    To send a message to the list administrator send an email to
    admin@acipc.org.au

    You can unsubscribe manually from this list by sending ‘signoff acipclist’
    (without the quotes) to listserv@aicalist.org.au

    MESSAGES POSTED TO THIS LIST ARE SOLELY THE OPINION OF THE AUTHOR, AND DO
    NOT REPRESENT THE OPINION OF ACIPC.

    The use of trade/product/commercial brand names through the list is
    discouraged by ACIPC. If you wish to discuss specific reference to products
    or services by brand or commercial names, please do this outside the list.

    Archive of all messages are available at http://aicalist.org.au/archives
    registration and login required.

    Replies to this message will be directed back to the list. To create a new
    message send an email to acipclist@acipc.org.au

    To send a message to the list administrator send an email to
    admin@acipc.org.au

    You can unsubscribe manually from this list by sending ‘signoff acipclist’
    (without the quotes) to listserv@aicalist.org.au

    MESSAGES POSTED TO THIS LIST ARE SOLELY THE OPINION OF THE AUTHOR, AND DO NOT REPRESENT THE OPINION OF ACIPC.

    The use of trade/product/commercial brand names through the list is discouraged by ACIPC. If you wish to discuss specific reference to products or services by brand or commercial names, please do this outside the list.

    Archive of all messages are available at http://aicalist.org.au/archives – registration and login required.

    Replies to this message will be directed back to the list. To create a new message send an email to acipclist@acipc.org.au

    To send a message to the list administrator send an email to admin@acipc.org.au

    You can unsubscribe manually from this list by sending ‘signoff acipclist’ (without the quotes) to listserv@aicalist.org.au

    #77704
    Michael Wishart
    Participant

    Author:
    Michael Wishart

    Position:

    Organisation:

    State:
    NSW

    [Posted on behalf of member – Moderator]

    If you cant get specific details related to the decontamination and cleaning from a manufacturer you should report it to the TGA , in the last 12 months most medical devices have been subject to extreme chemical decontamination and cleaning, in most cases by support staff who dont have access to the manufacturers IFU , so if you are aware of any shortfall in detailed instructions, it’s in everybodys interest that this is brought to the TGAs attention and addressed by the company.

    Medical equipment, their accessories and transducers are by definition Reusable and hence subject to NSQHS Advisory AS18/07 and AS/NZS4187:2014 hospitals are required to make sure all staff can access an IFU so it really is the make and model gold standard for cleaning.

    It’s in the companys interest, it’s important with respect to patient and staff safety and it will end up costing your organisation a lot of money

    Thanks

    George Koning

    CEO

    BioClinical Services Pty Ltd

    https://www.bioclinicalservices.com.au/infection-control

    ________________________________

    I concur thank you Kate

    My approach is the same for companies with regard to their SLAs and requirement for IQ, OQ and PQ of reprocessing equipment.

    Many product specialists are new in the field and not across the requirements of 4187, requiring up front payment and then not delivering

    So ask the question, dont just assume they know what they are doing otherwise you will receive validation reports that are not compliant

    Regards

    Michelle

    Michelle Bibby

    Infection Prevention Australia

    0429071165

    michelle@infectionprevention.com.au

    http://www.infectionprevention.com.au

    [cid:image001.png@01D6FA12.F46B8210]

    Well said Kate.

    I wont rehash the sentiment at length here but I have also taken this approach with RMDs at a local network and wider level, including requiring vendors to provide supplementary IFUs, where the original IFU was either arbitrary/unrealistic, or was limited to international cycles which dont prevail in Australia and would require additional validation to perform here (see: steriliser cycle parameters).

    One of the most common problems I have run into when resolving IFU conflicts is obtaining a reliable statement of compliance from the vendor e.g. we can confirm that the process you have proposed will deliver a product compliant versus national standards etc, and not a statement like while this may decrease the life of the device, we confirm that it will not affect warranty replacement which is a very different offering and often conflated in the procurement process.

    A conflict between the suppliers IFU and the organisations reprocessing resources is a risk which has to be held or eliminated by one of the parties. If the supplier cannot or will not resolve it at the product realisation stage then that is a consideration for the organisation going ahead.

    Regards,

    Andrew Ellis

    Sterilising and Reusable Medical Device Reprocessing State Coordinator
    Infection Control Service | Communicable Disease Control Branch
    Health Regulation & Protection
    Department for Health and Wellbeing | Government of South Australia

    Level 13 | 25 Grenfell Street | Adelaide SA 5000

    HCW infection prevention: http://www.sahealth.sa.gov.au/infectionprevention

    General public: http://www.sahealth.sa.gov.au/hospitalinfections

    This email may contain confidential information, which also may be legally privileged. Only the intended recipient(s) may access, use, distribute or copy this email. If this email is received in error, please inform the sender by return email and delete the original. If there are doubts about the validity of this message, please contact the sender by telephone. It is the recipients responsibility to check the email and any attached files for viruses.

    Hi Cate,

    I am not going to be helpful in suggesting a solution for you! What I would like to do is use your example to encourage everyone needing to meet the needs of AS/NZ 4187 to push back on medical devices manufacturers and suppliers to ensure there are cleaning/disinfection/sterilisation options provided that are available in Australia and are TGA approved.

    Since I started in my role a year ago, I have been contacting many companies to request that they provide a suitable Australian reprocessing option when none is given in the IFU. For the most part they have been particularly helpful, and have gone on to provide me with letters of approval to use the products we have in our hospital, or they have gone as far as doing proper compatibility testing and updating their IFUs as a result.

    For those few that are unwilling to engage in the conversation, we have informed them that we will not be using their product in future once the existing requires replacement, or if a new product, that we will not be able to purchase from them at all. At the same time I am in the process of tightening up our purchasing policy to ensure that RMDs, and reprocessing equipment can’t be purchased unless they meet strict criteria, namely that they can be reprocessed using the products/equipment we have available.

    If we all start pushing back on industry to do their part to enable safe and effective reprocessing, we might start to make change. So I would suggest that you go back to the dialysis supplier and suggest that it is their role to provide an option as per section 3 of AS/NZ 4187, and that alcohol is not a TGA approved product for RMDs.

    Kind regards

    Kate Ryan

    RMD Program Officer

    [logo_austin]

    0434 609 208 | 03 9496 6706

    Infectious Diseases Department

    Level 7, Harold Stokes Building

    145 Studley Road, Heidelberg

    PO Box 5555, Victoria, 3084

    ________________________________

    EXTERNAL EMAIL: Do not click links or open attachments unless you recognise the sender and know the content is safe. If you are unsure please contact service.desk@austin.org.au.

    ________________________________

    HI everyone

    Our healthcare service recently installed new dialysis machines across a wide area. Unfortunately there was no consultation with infection prevention and control for advice on managing the infection risk of the machines, in particular cleaning and disinfection.

    The manufactures instruction for use (IFU) recommend Ethanol (60% to 70%) Isopropanol 60% . There is a further large warning in the IFU stating clearly that only these 2 disinfectants are to be used to clean the touch screen. The rest of the machine maybe cleaned and disinfected with 2 in 1 wipe used in most hospitals .

    The IFU do not provide sufficient information or guidance on cleaning the Touch Screen to prevent damage and voiding warranty. The Touch Screen is the most frequently touched area of equipment and likely to become highly contaminated with pathogens from healthcare worker hands. Therefore cleaning and disinfection between patients to prevent healthcare associated infections in this vulnerable high risk group is vital. The IFU describes the disinfection process but not the cleaning process.

    The Australian Guidelines for the Prevention and Control of Infection in Healthcare NHMRC 2019 Page 59 which states:

    Physical (mechanical or manual) cleaning is the most important step in cleaning. Sole reliance

    on a disinfectant without physical cleaning is therefore not recommended

    Given that these machines are currently installed and in use and the company representatives maintain that only alcohol is to be used to clean the touch screen, I was wondering if anyone else had a similar experience and would share with me how you managed the situation.

    After all we all know cleaning and disinfection is vital in preventing the transmission of pathogens ,no more so during this COVID-19 Pandemic.

    Thanks very much

    Cate Coffey

    RN BaAScN MPH&TM Grad Cert Infection Control Nursing

    Clinical Nurse Manager

    Central Australia Health Service

    Department of Health

    Northern Territory Government

    Infection Prevention and Control Unit

    Alice Springs Hospital
    PO Box 2234, Alice Springs, NT 0871

    cate.coffey@nt.gov.au

    t. 08 8951 7737

    http://www.health.nt.gov.au

    MESSAGES POSTED TO THIS LIST ARE SOLELY THE OPINION OF THE AUTHOR, AND DO NOT REPRESENT THE OPINION OF ACIPC.

    The use of trade/product/commercial brand names through the list is discouraged by ACIPC. If you wish to discuss specific reference to products or services by brand or commercial names, please do this outside the list.

    Archive of all messages are available at http://aicalist.org.au/archives – registration and login required.

    Replies to this message will be directed back to the list. To create a new message send an email to acipclist@acipc.org.au

    To send a message to the list administrator send an email to admin@acipc.org.au

    You can unsubscribe manually from this list by sending ‘signoff acipclist’ (without the quotes) to listserv@aicalist.org.au

    MESSAGES POSTED TO THIS LIST ARE SOLELY THE OPINION OF THE AUTHOR, AND DO NOT REPRESENT THE OPINION OF ACIPC.

    The use of trade/product/commercial brand names through the list is discouraged by ACIPC. If you wish to discuss specific reference to products or services by brand or commercial names, please do this outside the list.

    Archive of all messages are available at http://aicalist.org.au/archives – registration and login required.

    Replies to this message will be directed back to the list. To create a new message send an email to acipclist@acipc.org.au

    To send a message to the list administrator send an email to admin@acipc.org.au

    You can unsubscribe manually from this list by sending ‘signoff acipclist’ (without the quotes) to listserv@aicalist.org.au

    MESSAGES POSTED TO THIS LIST ARE SOLELY THE OPINION OF THE AUTHOR, AND DO NOT REPRESENT THE OPINION OF ACIPC.

    The use of trade/product/commercial brand names through the list is discouraged by ACIPC. If you wish to discuss specific reference to products or services by brand or commercial names, please do this outside the list.

    Archive of all messages are available at http://aicalist.org.au/archives – registration and login required.

    Replies to this message will be directed back to the list. To create a new message send an email to acipclist@acipc.org.au

    To send a message to the list administrator send an email to admin@acipc.org.au

    You can unsubscribe manually from this list by sending ‘signoff acipclist’ (without the quotes) to listserv@aicalist.org.au

    MESSAGES POSTED TO THIS LIST ARE SOLELY THE OPINION OF THE AUTHOR, AND DO NOT REPRESENT THE OPINION OF ACIPC.

    The use of trade/product/commercial brand names through the list is discouraged by ACIPC. If you wish to discuss specific reference to products or services by brand or commercial names, please do this outside the list.

    Archive of all messages are available at http://aicalist.org.au/archives – registration and login required.

    Replies to this message will be directed back to the list. To create a new message send an email to acipclist@acipc.org.au

    To send a message to the list administrator send an email to admin@acipc.org.au

    You can unsubscribe manually from this list by sending ‘signoff acipclist’ (without the quotes) to listserv@aicalist.org.au

    MESSAGES POSTED TO THIS LIST ARE SOLELY THE OPINION OF THE AUTHOR, AND DO NOT REPRESENT THE OPINION OF ACIPC.

    The use of trade/product/commercial brand names through the list is discouraged by ACIPC. If you wish to discuss specific reference to products or services by brand or commercial names, please do this outside the list.

    Archive of all messages are available at http://aicalist.org.au/archives – registration and login required.

    Replies to this message will be directed back to the list. To create a new message send an email to acipclist@acipc.org.au

    To send a message to the list administrator send an email to admin@acipc.org.au

    You can unsubscribe manually from this list by sending ‘signoff acipclist’ (without the quotes) to listserv@aicalist.org.au

Viewing 6 posts - 1 through 6 (of 6 total)
  • The forum ‘Infexion Connexion’ is closed to new topics and replies.