Challenges and strategies of CSSD and its role in controlling the infection and safety of hospitals

Introduction: In most healthcare facilities, the central sterile supply department (CSSD) plays a key role in providing the items required to deliver quality patient care. To support infection control within the healthcare facility, the CSSD staff members must be well-trained and skilled, and committed to doing what’s right every step of the way. That means ensuring that shortcuts are never made and that processes and practices are consistently followed. In all health care centers, the Department of Sterilization (CSSD) plays a key role in providing health care for patient care.Purpose: Since the CSSD unit of the health center has a direct impact on the reduction of hospital infections, which is one of the major approaches to treatment centers, the CSSD is aimed at achieving therapeutic goals by preserving patient safety as one. Is one of the mostimportant tools in this field . The aim of this study was to investigate the physical standards, disinfection methods, and the performance of the central sterilization unit (CSSD) of the universities covered by Tehran University of Medical Sciences. This study aims to evaluate theeffect of the educational interventions regarding sterilization process on quality of work delivered at the central sterile supply departmentthroughthe following:1.Assessment of the central sterile supply department staff(nurses, technicians and workers) knowledge and practices regarding to the standards sterilization process.2.Developingand implementing tailored educational interventions based on thestaff needs assessment.3.Evaluatingthe effect of educational interventions regarding sterilization procession the quality of work delivered at the central sterile supply department. Method: As you know surgical specialty instruments, equipment and implants that require specialhandling, packaging and sterilization also require careful attention and expertise. CSSD technicians must be able to select the proper packaging materials and use proper techniques for wrapping and packaging items for sterilization. Items to be sterilized must be properly identified, and the correct method and parameters for their sterilization must be determined and precisely followed. The principles necessaryto achieve sterilization must be understood and applied. Sterilizers must be loaded and operated properly, sterilization quality assurance measures must be followed and interpreted to ensure that items are sterile, and records must be maintained. Factors that can compromise sterile packaging must be understood, prevented and promptly detected. So this is a descriptive-analytic study which was conducted in hospitals affiliated to Tehran University of Medical Sciences in 2017-2018. The research data were collected using checklist that was prepared by the Ministry of Health andHospital Accreditation Model. Excel data was also used for data analysis. Findings: It’s not enough for CSSD technicians to know how to perform their jobs; they must also know and understand why they do what they do. As they perform their daily tasks, they must have theknowledge to support effective problem-solving and decision-making, and the understanding that every step in the CSSD has a direct impact on infection control – and, above all, patient care and safety. It is critical that CSSD personnel establish quality levels for the products and services they produce and then ensure that these levels are consistently attained. Quality is determined by customers and, therefore, the success of CSSD depends upon their satisfaction. Anyone who has an expectation about the products or services of CSSD is a customer. This includes surgical services personnel, physicians, patients, diagnostic imaging technicians and other medical personnel, and delivery staff. Quality (or lackof quality) can have dramatic consequences on the health and safety of personnel and patients. How well quality products and services are provided will impact the operation of the department and have a direct impact on the hospital’s financial success. centralizing the reprocessing of reusable devices helps ensure uniform standards of practice, while also providing for improved workflow (soiled, to clean, tosterile). This also facilitates the training and education of skilled technicians who must be knowledgeable about the standards, complexities, challenges, risks, and techniques associated with the CSSD function. Every CSSD task must be performed in a manner that protects the welfare and safety of patients, coworkers and the community. According to the results, 80% of CSSD problems are related to physical space, poor ventilation and a lower percentage of personnel performance. There are not enough equipment in the hospitals, such as plasma and autoclave.Conclusion: Since the physical space and the proper functioning of the Central Sterilization Unit (CSSD) play a major role in controlling hospital infections and preventing the spread of diseases as a serious threat to patients, which in turn increases the hospitalization day, createsresistance and complications the drug and the huge costs of the patient and the community are played; it plays. Therefore, with regard to comparing the performance of this unit with the defined standards, in cases where there is significant difference, corrective measures such asphysical space, equipment purchasing, personnel training and recruitment of specialist staff who have completed the CSSD course are recommended, as well as the budget was allocated to the university hospitals for modifying CSSD.

کلیدواژه ها:

Physical Space ، CSSD ، Hospital Infection Control ، Accreditation Standards