Sterile Services Technician

at  Fairfield Independent Hospital

Job Summary PURPOSE OF JOB: To undertake decontamination duties and assist colleagues and Supervisors in providing the specialised decontamination of medical devices which contribute to the clinical care of the patient. To carry out the receipt, disassembly, cleaning, reassembly, inspection checking, packing and sterilization of reusable medical devices. Record all tasks in the Healthcare Science Information Systems (tracking and traceability database). Work in accordance with the Department’s standard procedures, Work Instructions and the Quality Management System.
Plan your own workload with limited supervision and the role involves exposure to blood and body fluids. Role & Responsibilities 1. Perform a thorough damp dust of work areas prior to commencement of work 2. Accepting used surgical instruments into the department ready to be reprocessed.
3. Correctly loading the washer-disinfector and autoclave to ensure effective decontamination of the entire load. 4. Ensuring a full inspection of the load is carried out prior to packaging the instruments for sterilization.
5. Packaging instruments, when applicable, in accordance with Hospital policy. 6. Ensuring all machines complete a cycle within accepted HTM 01-01 and HTM 01-06 guidance and passing the load to be released.
7. Recording and reporting any failed runs to the Decontamination Lead. 8. Reporting any problems/ missing instruments to the Supervisor as soon as possible.
9. Inspecting all sterile packages for integrity once the load has cooled sufficiently and returning any compromised packages to be re-packaged and re-autoclaved. 10. Returning decontaminated goods back to respective departments as soon as possible.
11. Ensuring all items passed through a decontamination process have a traceability label attached/available. 12. Ensuring all relevant paperwork within the department is completed.
13. Undertaking daily checks of all machinery as per HTM 01-01 and HTM 01-06 guidance and keeping records of the checks. 14. The post holder will participate in the Sterile Service Technician shift rota, including weekend, on-call rota.
15. Demonstrating good communication skills within the multi-disciplinary team 16. Ensuring appropriate stock levels are maintained within the department. 17.
Accepting and processing equipment from outside agencies/other hospitals for use in Fairfield Hospital then, subsequently reprocessing and returning the equipment to the supplier. 18. Will be required to achieve NVQ level 3, City and Guilds or Decontamination qualification in agreed time. 19.
To operate decontamination equipment in accordance with all safety requirements and manufacturers requirements Clinical Practice Ensuring the correct Personal Protective Equipment is used when undertaking specific tasks. Reporting incidents/occurrences using established methods and procedures. Participating in clinical trials Participating in clinical audit & carry out testing of equipment validation and testing Education Ensuring all relevant mandatory training provided by the hospital is undertaken on a yearly basis. Ensuring training on all machinery used within the department is undertaken.
Personal Professional Development Undertaking recognised qualifications/ further training within the sterile services area. Being aware of the effect of changing legislation on current practices and adapting to change in an appropriate manner. The above list is not exhaustive but reflects main duties of the post. It will be reviewed annually to respond to the changing needs of the service, in consultation with the post holder

Please refer the Job description for details