Miss Georgia Matterson1, Dr Katrina Browne1, Dr Peta Tehan1,2, Professor Philip L Russo1,2, Mr. Martin Kiernan1,3, Professor Brett G Mitchell1,2,4,5
1Avondale University, Cooranbong, Australia, 2Monash University, Melbourne, Australia, 3University of West London, London, United Kingdom, 4Central Coast Local Health District, Gosford, Australia, 5Hunter Medical Research Institute, Newcastle, Australia
Biography:
Georgia Matterson is a research assistant at Avondale University and an integral member of the Infection Prevention Research Group. Georgia has a Bachelor of Biotechnology (Honours I) from Newcastle University and received the 2022 College Medal. Georgia's has experience in working with randomised controlled trials and point prevalence surveys, with a particular focus on environmental hygiene, and hand hygiene.
Abstract:
Introduction
A recent randomised control trial (the CLEEN study) demonstrated that the increased cleaning and disinfection of shared medical equipment reduced healthcare-associated infection (HAI) transmission in patients. Despite this, little research has been done to quantify the time required to effectively clean different pieces of shared medical equipment. Our study aimed to quantify the time required to effectively clean common pieces of medical equipment shared between patients and healthcare workers in the hospital setting.
Methods
This observational time and motion study was conducted in a nursing simulation ward at an Australian University. Undergraduate nursing participants underwent training prior to cleaning equipment. Training was equivalent to that received by cleaners in hospitals. The time to effectively clean 12 different pieces of shared medical equipment was recorded. Equipment was considered effectively cleaned if ≥80% of ultraviolet fluorescent marker dots were removed during the cleaning process.
Results
We recruited 6 participants who completed on average 20 individual cleans. The time to effectively clean equipment ranged from 50 seconds (blood glucose testing kit) to 3 minutes 53 seconds (medication trolley). The most difficult piece of equipment to clean was the bladder scanner requiring 12 attempts to meet the 80% criteria.
Conclusion
Considerable time is required to effectively clean shared medical equipment, particularly if the cleaning is after every use. Findings from this study can be used in cost-effectiveness evaluations, as well as informing staffing requirements to plan the effective cleaning of shared medical equipment.