Authors (including presenting author) :
Li SK(1), Lung YP(1), Lam SL(1), Lai WK(1)
Affiliation :
(1)Physiotherapy Department, Shatin Hospital
Introduction :
A large volume of patients (on average around 200) receive training in Physiotherapy (PT) Department, Shatin Hospital every day. Exercise equipment is one of the major complements for patient training during rehabilitation processes. Effective disinfection of exercise equipment surface is imperative for infection control since patients have frequent contact with them.
Objectives :
The objective of this continuous quality improvement (CQI) was to improve the effectiveness in cleansing and disinfection of exercise equipment.
Methodology :
Regular surprise equipment cleansing audits have been conducted to ensure effectiveness of cleansing in PT department since 2017 bi-annually. Ineffective disinfection is defined by inability to completely clear up of the florescence dye, which was marked on the equipment surface before disinfection routine. The results of the second audit conducted in 2Q 2017 showed that the effectiveness of exercise equipment handle cleansing was only 56%, which was significantly lower compared with other equipment surface (86.7%). It was found that the uneven or sponge-wrapped equipment handle surface led to the low effectiveness of cleansing and disinfection, as it was difficult to be thoroughly cleaned. Hence, as of 3Q 2017, over 100 equipment handles with uneven or sponge-wrapped surface were identified in all PT gymnasiums. These handles were wrapped with heat-shrinkable plastic-coating in 4Q 2017, in order to make the handles’ surface more even and water-proof.
Result & Outcome :
To evaluate the effectiveness of the above measure, equipment handles wrapped with the plastic coating were randomly selected for the surprise equipment cleansing audits in 1Q 2018 and 4Q 2018 respectively. There was a significant improvement in the effectiveness of equipment handle cleansing after the wrapping of plastic coating. Results of the audits in 1Q 2018 and 4Q 2018 showed that 21 out of 23 (91%) and 34 out of 35 (97%) selected equipment handles marked with the fluorescence dye were completely cleared after routine equipment cleansing respectively, and staffs also showed more confidence in cleaning those handles thoroughly. The results showed that handles wrapped with plastic coating could help improve the cleansing and disinfection effectiveness. To conclude, for medical equipment which has an uneven or spongy-wrapped surface, they should be coated with a layer of smooth and water-proof material to ensure effective disinfection.
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