Sterile Supply 101  In the hospital's sterile supply department used surgical instruments are cleaned, sorted, inspected, and repacked into containers,
to be sterilized for the next procedure. Every day, thousands of used instruments pass through sterile supply. This
department performs many vital functions for a wide variety of surgical instrument sets. This discussion focuses on sets of handheld
surigcal tools, used in almost every procedure. Click here to watch a movie showing sterile supply in action. In the first step, the container of dirty instruments from the OR is unloaded. These containers are usually loaded quickly in
the OR, with little concern for neatness. The instruments are hand cleaned if needed at the point. Next the instruments are returned to the tray which is passed through an ultrasonic cleaner. The outer containers are handled seperately.
Not all facilities use ultrasonic cleaners, though they are common. The tray is then loaded into a very sophisticated washer/disinfector for further cleaning. Trays are generally loaded into these
units on the dirty side of sterile supply and removed on the clean side, with a wall seperating the two areas. Many functions are performed on the clean side of sterile supply, including inspection. Here the instruments are checked for cleanliness
and to ensure that they are in proper working order. The contents of the tray must be carefully checked against the count sheet to ensure each required instrument is present. In most modern
sterile supply departments the process of tracking surgical instruments is largely done on paper. The list of instruments required for each
container is kept in a filing cabinet. Technicians verify each instrument and check it off on the paper list. Sterile supply is, in essence, an inventory control center. Electronic inventory tracking systems, such as barcodes or RFIDs, are steadily
becoming more common. These capabilities will greatly enhance the sterile supply manager's ability to monitor their inventory and make
operational and purchasing plans. Technicians in sterile supply must sort the instruments by type so they can packed neatly back into the tray. Proper sorting helps the
scrub technician in the OR when he/she is prepping for a surgery. Neatly sorted instruments are easier to count and are more likely to
be counted correctly. Traditionally, looped instruments are loaded onto a U-shaped metal stringer, which is then placed in the tray. The other instruments, such
as retractors, are placed in the tray loose. The loaded tray is then placed back in the cleaned container. The container is now closed and latched. Special tape, which changes color in the autoclave, is placed over the opening so sterile
containers are easily identifiable. Now the container is wrapped in a protective blanket. Finally, the sealed and wrapped container is placed into the autoclave for steam sterilzation. After the autoclave, the container is
sterile and ready for surgical use. |
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PenelopeCS Pilot Program PenelopeCS is ready for action! RST is seeking partner hospitals to participate in our PenelopeCS Pilot Program. Help lead the way and advance this groundbreaking technology. Click here to learn more.
PenelopeCS Guided Tour Hello, my name is Penelope. Let me show you around. Click here to see our latest movie of Penelope giving a guided tour of her capabilties.
PenelopeCS In The News PenelopeCS is featured in the latest issue of OR Manager. The leading international publication on OR management weighs in on RST's exciting new product, PenelopeCS. |
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