In Healthcare, it is essential that any instruments or equipment used in procedures go straight to the Hospital’s Sterile Services Department (SSD), where the technicians will clean and decontaminate equipment used in hospital operating theatres, clinics and wards.
The SSD is an integrated place within Hospitals and other Healthcare facilities, that performs Sterilisation processes on medical devices, equipment and consumables for the subsequent use by Health workers within the operating theatre and other procedures.
What does Sterile mean?
The term Sterile is defined as something being utterly free from bacteria or other living microorganisms- it is totally clean.
To make something sterile, a sterilisation procedure must be carried out. Sterilisation is the process of destroying all living organisms on an item or instrument, and is the primary task of most Sterile Service departments.
There are multiple methods of sterilisation, and which one is used is dependent on many factors, including: operational cost, potential hazards to workers, efficacy, time, and composition of the materials being sterilised.
Sterile Services in Healthcare
The Sterile Services department is essential to the day-to-day running of any Hospital or Healthcare facility.
The team within the SSD ensures that all surgical instruments that are used, inside theatres or in clinics, are Sterile and available, with staff often working through the night to ensure that all patients are able to have their procedure.
Through their work, the Sterile Services department/ unit ensures that surgical procedures remain life-saving rather than life-threatening.
What equipment is used in Sterile Services?
Within the SSD, there can be many forms of Decontamination capital equipment found, including washers, autoclaves and process challenge devices.
Here at Sychem, we work with the Italian manufacturing giant Steelco to offer a complete portfolio of capital equipment for use in the Healthcare industry, comprised of small to medium steam sterilisers, instrument washer disinfectors, bulk capacity steam sterilising autoclaves, Ultrasonic washers, low-temperature sterilisers and Trolley washer-disinfectors.
We also work in UK exclusive partnership with the Infection Prevention experts at Terragene to provide an extensive range of Infection Control consumables, designed to support SSD departments. Our Terragene collection includes:
Cleaning Indicators to verify processes in washer-disinfectors
Chemical Indicators, including Bowie Dick test packs, to verify methods within steam sterilising autoclaves.
Biological Indicators to verify processes within varying equipment, including low-temperature sterilisers.
Protein Residue Testing to verify the washing process.
Traceability devices with Cloud-based software to keep track of all of your results in a straightforward place.
Servicing with Sychem
At Sychem, we offer comprehensive equipment services for washing, disinfection, sterilisation, and decontamination equipment, designed to ensure that your system operates as efficiently as possible with minimal downtime.
With a team of 25+ engineers based across the UK, Sychem ensures that your equipment continues operating at its highest possible potential with weekly, quarterly, biannual and annual testing (testing requirements depend on the industry of operation).
Our services include the service and planned preventative maintenance (PPM) of equipment, validation & testing, refurbishment, emergency breakdown support and our unique cloud-based asset management portal, SYCHEMEYE.
We service all recognised brands of autoclaves, washer disinfectors and any other decontamination equipment. Our service contracts are fully customisable, and tailored to meet a facility’s needs. Our equipment services contracts can vary from periodic service & testing of equipment to fully comprehensive PPM contracts that incorporate breakdown cover, parts and training.
Sychem have a dedicated, office-based team of resource coordinators- so rest assured that a member of our team will respond to any questions within 24/48 hours.
Transform processes within your SSD with Sychem today! Contact a member of our expert team for more information.
Can’t quite find what you’re looking for? Visit the Steelco and Terragene websites to find out more about their complete product ranges.
