Who's who in infection control?

A practice should carry out testing and validation on decontamination equipment:

Washer disinfector

Ultrasonic bath

Benchtop steriliser.

A record of the testing and validation should be recorded. The records should be stored for a minimum of two years from the date of completion and practice policies should reflect this information.

A decontamination organisational chart should be devised. Employees with decontamination duties should be identified as to what their duties and responsibilities are.

Specific roles are:

Registered manager – has overall responsibility for overseeing the decontamination processes

Decontamination or infection control lead – has day to day responsibility for overseeing the decontamination processes

Operators – are responsible on a day to day basis of ensuring the decontamination process are carried out routinely between patients