All about cleaning and disinfection of medical equipment

An important issue in the hygiene of a medical centre or clinic is the cleaning and disinfection of medical equipment. It should be noted beforehand that it is the previously cleaned equipment that can be disinfected or sterilised. The aim is simple: to prevent pathogenic organisms on the equipment from being transmitted to other patients or medical staff.

The process involves a total of three steps including

• cleaning and decontamination,
• pre-disinfection,
• disinfection, which also includes the means of sterilisation.
  
  

A level of disinfection according to risk levels

Depending on the use of the material and the nature of the fabric with which the material comes into contact, the level of treatment for the material changes. In this sense, the tools that come into contact with the patient's intact skin are those that require the least treatment. They can simply be disinfected with alcohol.

Tools that come into direct contact with mucous membranes or injured skin are classified as having a semi-critical risk level and require intermediate disinfection. This level results in an initial cleaning of the equipment, followed by sterilisation with medical products, such as alcohol or other products.

More information on the products used for the disinfection of medical equipment can be found on: energie-medical.fr.

Disinfection is done on the cleaned material

It is important to know that medical equipment must first go through :

• a first cleaning step before being disinfected. This first step is necessary especially for equipment used in medical-surgical interventions. It is useful to dismantle all the equipment before proceeding with the in-depth cleaning. This step takes about 15 minutes during which the material is immersed in a bath of product mixed with hot water.
• A second step, rinsing with running water, takes at least 5 minutes. Only after the disinfection and sterilisation methods are undertaken.

it should be noted that these steps define the hygiene of the medical centre or institute, and must therefore be carried out with care.