Lancashire Teaching Hospitals’ Sterile Services department passed a recent ISO external audit with flying colours.
The audit revealed no major or minor non-conformities - deviations from specifications, standards, or expectations - marking an excellent result for the Trust.
An ISO audit is an audit of your organisation's compliance with the standards set forth by the International Organization for Standardization, with a surveillance audit a “snapshot” in time of the auditor's review to ensure the company is still meeting the key elements of the ISO standard.
Sterile Services officially comes under Estates and Facilities and is a very specialist service – their decontamination department manages all risks associated with health care acquired infections (HCAI) in the reprocessing of reusable medical devices.
Staff working in sterile services are responsible for ensuring that reusable medical devices, such as instruments and equipment are cleaned, sterilised, and repackaged to high standards, ready for reusing in operating theatres and other areas of health care.
Trust Decontamination Lead Sevvel Mariappan said: “The positive outcome of the audit reflects the high level of professionalism and adherence to quality that defines our department. I believe this achievement showcases our ongoing commitment to excellence in our operations. My sincere thanks go out to all who worked night and day to ensure that our department is running smoothly.”
“We cannot operate if the standards are not maintained to and upheld in order to carry out the work, so it is very important for Sterile Services that we meet all the criteria and make continuous improvement to pass the ISO external audit every year.
“Implementing systematic procedures can help eliminate problems, reduce patient cancellations, and minimise waiting times, ultimately leading to improved performance, strategic leadership, and increased staff engagement. Consequently, this can lead to the delivery of Trust-wide high-quality decontamination services.”
Cliff Howell, Director of Estates & Facilities (Acting), added: “This is fantastic news, well done to all concerned and a massive thank you from me for all that you do under very challenging circumstances.”
