Cleaning medical puppets for paediatric occupational therapy

[Meryl Jones]

Good morning,

I am hoping that someone will be able to provide some assistance and information with a question posed to our infection management team by our occupational therapy department. Our OTs use dolls when working with children who will be undergoing procedures, such as insertion of lines and NG tubes. They use a range of dolls, including medical puppets and simulation dolls. The medical puppets are made of fabric and the manufacturer recommends that they are not machine washable, but can be disinfected with “sports antibacterial spray” or by gas sterilisation. The puppets are used frequently – sometimes with up to 6 different patients a day in an oncology clinic.
Current measures that the OTs are taking to prevent the spread of infection include not using dolls with any child who is known to be colonised with a MRO/ significant organism, and ensuring staff, patients and carers wash their hands before and after using puppets. They have previously been advised that they could use a household brand antibacterial spray, such as “Glen20” or put the dolls in the sunlight.
We have been approached to provide guidance on how best to ensure that the dolls do not contribute to the spread of HAIs. The OTs are very reluctant to get rid of their fabric dolls as they feel they play a role in treatment that cannot be fulfilled by the plastic simulation dolls.
I would be very interested to hear from any service out there which has experience of managing this situation or is able to point me in the direction of any research evidence that could help us resolve this query.

Many thanks,

Meryl Jones
Clinical Nurse
Infection Management and Prevention Service
Children’s Health Queensland Hospital and Health Service

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