What is Best Practice?

To meet Best Practice, you must show clear evidence in three specifc areas:

The installation, validation and recorded use of a washer disinfector for the cleaning and decontamination of instruments.

Have clear zones within the decontamination facilities to show dirty > clean. Ideally seperate rooms. Failing that, clear routes in (dirty) and out (clean). Only dedicated, trained staff must operate within these assigned areas.

A dedicated storage facility / area, appropriate for keeping the level of recontamination to a minimum, away from the mail clinical area(s) must be used for all reprocessed instruments.

The aim of these new guidelines should enable the practice to process dental instruments to be clean, sterile and be of suitable condition for re-use and be fully compliant with "essential medical requirements" of the Medical Devices Regulations 2002.

Appropriate training be attained to meet above requirements and linked to the GDC's core skills, of which infection control forms part of these with a requirement for a minimum of 5 hours verifiable CPD over a 5 year period.

No time frame set for meeting best practice.

Those who cannot genuinely meet "Best Practice" must still provide clear evidence that they can more towards this aim for their decontamination plans.

| | | |