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Cleaning and Care of Equipment in the Emergency Department

This document is a summarised version of OP-GC5-Cleaning of Patient Care Equipment. The summary has been created to be Emergency Department specific, and has been endorsed by the ED Leadership Team. Staff should review the document if they require further information.

Overview:

As shared patient equipment can act as a “vehicle by which infectious agents are transferred between patients,” it is important that proper care and cleaning of equipment is adhered to.

Applicability

This QRG applies to all presentations to the Emergency Department.

 

Responsibility

It is the responsibility of the Nurse Unit Managers and Directors of the Emergency Departments of each site to ensure the relevant staff are familiar with this QRG, that it is implemented according to the guidelines as outlined within, and that there is compliance by all staff members.

 

Guideline Details

What does this look like in Practice

  1. All shared patient care equipment must be cleaned with hospital approved wipes containing detergent and disinfectant after each patient use.
  2. All patient care equipment should be disinfected using disinfecting wipes (ie. Clinell) upon being removed from an isolation room.
  3. Shared cleaned equipment (eg. bladder scanner/ECG machine/IV poles) should be clearly tagged as ‘Clean’ utilising the approved green tag. Any equipment that does not have the ‘Cleaned’ tag is to be considered unsafe and must be cleaned
  4. Any damaged equipment that cannot be adequately cleaned and disinfected should be placed in a clear plastic bag (where possible) before returning to the Clinical Equipment Library or engineering with a BEIMS attached.
  5. The schedule of cleaning patient care equipment is provided in the Table 1.

Table 1: Equipment Cleaning protocol in the Emergency Department

Equipment

Timing

Method

Who is responsible?
Bed
 Clean after patient discharge:

– Rails/frame

– Whole bed

 Detergent + disinfectant Nurse + PSA
Bedpans and urinals
 After patient use Thermal washer/sanitiser Nurse
Commode
 Clean contact points after patient use Detergent + disinfectant Nurse
Lifting equipment (i.e. hoists)
 Clean contact points after patient use Detergent + Disinfectant Nurse
Drips/intravenous stands/poles
 After patient use Detergent + disinfectant Nurse + PSA
Medical equipment (e.g. pulse oximeters/stethoscopes) NOT connected to patient
 Clean daily and between patient use Detergent + disinfectant Nurse + PSA
Patient slide/board
 After patient use Detergent + disinfectant Nurse + PSA
Reusable distraction & calming resources*

·         Tablet devices

·         Tablet cases

·         Lockable tablet cable

·         Headphones

·         Plastic clipboard

 After patient use Detergent + disinfectant Nurse + PSA

*Does not require approved green ‘Clean’ tag. Refer to QRG – Use of Distraction and Calming Devices in ED.

Supporting Documentation:

Cleaning of Patient Care Equipment Procedure (OP_GC5)

Use of Distraction and Calming Strategies in Emergency Departments

Document Governance

Title: Cleaning and Care of Equipment in the Emergency Department
Version: 2.0
Date Published: June, 2022
Date of scheduled review: 20 February 2024
Author: SHED Leadership Team Approver: SHED Leadership Team
Reviewed by: Ian Law Date:  20 February 2023

 

 

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