St George’s Hospital, Tooting recently completed a major refurbishment of its endoscope decontamination unit (EDU) without affecting the daily running of the department, even at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Sandy Sayandan, senior compliance projects manager, had identified potential improvements to the EDU. When the trust’s authorised engineer for decontamination (AE(D)) and Joint Advisory Group on Gastrointestinal Endoscopy (JAG) report highlighted issues to be corrected, Sandy suggested that instead of working to HTM01-06 the trust should aim for Best Practice.
The scheme required new floors, walls and ceilings, lighting, interlocking doors, improved air handling and pressure differentials, changes to the water supply and drainage, new sinks, pass-through hatches and more. All to be achieved without affecting the operation of the department.
“We looked at how we could implement the plan and the scope of work,” says Sandy. “I chose Garth Rowbottom and SSD Limited because of Garth’s flexibility and the quality of their work.”
During the pandemic, the EDU was still working five days a week. Garth and his team began work every Friday, working through until the Monday morning, handing back the area clean and fully operational each time.
Vicki Hedley, lead nurse for endoscopy services, explains: “There was no disruption to our work or machine downtime. The decontamination team are delighted with the outcome.”
Sandy adds; “We’re now going forward for ISO 9002 and JAG re-accreditation. The department now looks fresh and more spacious. On schemes such as this, quality and finish are important. Both meet my expectations.”
Garth Rowbottom, director of SSD Limited, says: “Many endoscopy and sterile services departments across the country will have similar issues, that they struggle to handle. We’re doing ‘get out of jail’ stuff for people. It’s all part of the service we supply.”
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