PCS2 Contribute to the safe use of medical devices in the perioperative environment

Overview

This standard covers the safe use of medical devices in relation to the maintenance of asepsis, the control of cross-infection, decontamination and sterilisation processes within the perioperative care environment. Users of this standard will need to ensure that practice reflects up to date information and policies. Version No 1

Knowledge and Understanding

You will need to know and understand:

1. The current European and National legislation, national guidelines, organisational policies and protocols in accordance with Clinical/Corporate Governance which affect your work practice in relation to contributing to the safe use of medical devices in the perioperative environment
2. Your responsibilities and accountability in relation to the current European and National legislation, national guidelines and local policies and protocols and Clinical/Corporate Governance
3. The duty to report any acts or omissions in care that could be detrimental to yourself, other individuals or your employer
4. The importance of working within your own sphere of competence and seeking advice when faced with situations outside your sphere of competence
5. The principles and causes of infection and cross-infection
6. The application of standard precautions for infection control and other relevant health and safety issues and the potential consequences of poor practice
7. Decontamination and sterilisation processes
8. How to recognise that a theatre tray or supplementary equipment and packs are sterile
9. How to inspect the integrity of equipment, instruments and soft packs, and the types of damage and fault to look out for
10. The potential risks of using damaged sterile pre-packed items
11. Where and how to dispose of used, dirty and damaged equipment, instruments and soft packs, (both re-usable and single-use)
12. The different types of waste and spillage, and how to dispose of each type
13. Methods for sorting and disposing or storing of contaminated and non-contaminated equipment prior to processing
14. The importance of reporting damaged or missing items, and procedures for doing this
15. The importance of traceability systems for theatre instruments
16. The importance of immediately reporting any issues which are outside your own sphere of competence without delay to the relevant member of staff

Performance Criteria

You must be able to do the following:

1. apply standard precautions for infection prevention and control and other appropriate health and safety measures
2. check, handle and store packs delivered from sterile services or the manufacturer in the agreed place and record delivery in the appropriate documentation
3. use packs in strict rotation and report shortages of supplies to the appropriate person
4. check equipment, instruments and soft pack items and confirm they are free from damage
5. recognize when a sterile pack is unsuitable for use, return the pack to the appropriate department or manufacturer and complete the appropriate documentation
6. check instrument trays before and after use with a designated person, confirm that they contain the specified items and complete required documentation
7. accurately report any missing equipment to an appropriate person.
8. locate and replace any objects that are missing from instrument trays and report accurately to an appropriate person
9. identify and report any equipment, instruments or soft pack items, where you have found faults in them and report accurately to an appropriate person
10. after use, collect, sort and store items to be decontaminated and sterilised in an appropriate and safe manner according to schedule
11. place empty pack containers, trays and used medical devices in the appropriate place for collection
12. account for disposable items and dispose of them appropriately, following organisational policy
13. carry out delegated activities to comply with traceability systems

Additional Information

This National Occupational Standard was developed by Skills for Health. This standard links with the following dimension within the NHS Knowledge and Skills Framework (October 2004): Dimension: HWB7 Interventions and treatments