cart's doors and blindly spray inside. This means
that only the instruments at the very top of the heap
get treated. You're much more likely to get even
coverage when you apply the gel or spray while the
instruments are still in the OR and before they're
placed in the transport container.
A successful partnership
Surgical staff members understandably have an
expectation that they will receive clean and sterile
instruments from sterile processing. For a true part-
nership to exist between the two areas, however, you
need to instill an expectation that sterile processing
techs will receive instruments
from ORs that have been wiped
down during and immediately
after procedures, and shipped to
them moist. Creating that partner-
ship and making sure it's a two-
way street not only makes it easi-
er for the OR staff to get the clean
instruments they want, it also
means instruments are properly
cared for and patients will receive
the quality care they deserve.
The primary reasons facilities
skip point-of-use instrument care
are related to time and money.
The pitch to OR staff is that the
rewards and benefits outweigh
the few extra minutes pre-clean-
ing takes. A well-cared-for stain-
less steel surgical instrument can
last more than 10 years, which
helps your facility's bottom line
because you won't have to
replace pitted instruments that
are no longer usable. Pre-treat-
ments also shorten the time sets
spend in decontamination, which
saves money and results in fewer
late case starts that waste expen-
sive OR time.
Wiping instruments with water
and gauze during procedures and
making sure they remain moist
until they reach sterile processing
should be a no-brainer. The extra
steps will add a few minutes to
room turnover times, but overall
efficiencies will improve because
instruments arrive at sterile pro-
cessing with no bioburden on
4 8 • O U T P A T I E N T S U R G E R Y M A G A Z I N E • A U G U S T 2 0 2 0
