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Medical and surgical devices need to be sterilised to maintain high standards of health and safety at medical facilities. This is something that is widely known, but why is proper medical device sterilisation so crucial? Glenmed Professional Healthcare Solutions explains.
What Does Sterilisation Do?
Sterilisation, usually carried out with heat or with some form of chemical disinfectant (usually the former in medical facilities) destroys all microorganisms that might be on the surface of an object, in order to ensure that disease transmission can be interrupted and prevented. Using medical instruments that are not adequately sterilised can significantly raise the risk of infection, as pathogens can easily be passed from one patient to another in this way. SAL is a measure of how lethal a particular sterilisation process is, i.e., what the chances are of a microbe or spore surviving the process. More critical devices need to be sterilised through processes that have a higher SAL.
If devices are not properly sterilised, there is a heightened risk of patient infection, and there are secondary risks for the medical facility too. Failure to sterilise instruments adequately is considered medical negligence, which could lead to lawsuits and even closure. Loss of life is by far the most severe potential consequence, but this can extend beyond the affected patient. If a medical facility has to close down as a result of losses during a medical negligence suit, the entire surrounding community could suffer
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Sterility Assurance Level
There is a wide margin of safety when it comes to sterilisation processes. What we call “sterile” is really a measure of the probability of sterility for a particular item. This measure is referred to as the sterility assurance level (SAL) of the product, defined as the probability of a single viable microorganism occurring on the product after sterilisation.
Medical devices made of heat resistant materials, such as surgical steel are usually sterilised through steam sterilisation, which has the largest margin of safety among the available methods. Other items are usually sterilised using ethylene oxide, hydrogen peroxide gas or peracetic acid.
Trust Glenmed Professional Healthcare Solutions as Your Go-To Provider of Professional Medical Services
Glenmed is a licensed South African distributor representing several leading medical equipment brands. Contact us to find out how we can help you equip your medical facility, through both the sale and rental of cutting-edge equipment, as well as train your staff and maintain your equipment.
Now Read An Inside Look At Some Of The Medical Faculties that Glenmed Covers
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