At the Institute of Decontamination Sciences’ annual scientific conference at the Birmingham Metropole Hotel, decontamination scientists from across the UK discussed issues including common reprocessing challenges experienced by decontamination staff, the need for clear IFUs for medical devices, whether the time is right to review the Spaulding Classification, and some of the risks posed by biofilms in flexible endoscopes. Louise Frampton, the editor of HEJ’s sister publication, The Clinical Services Journal, reports.
Continuous professional development to ensure competency has been identified as an essential requirement for the decontamination sector, in the wake of the findings of the HSSIB report on a serious failure in decontamination. With this in mind, the IDSc was instrumental in the development and introduction of NHS Estates Technical Bulletin NETB/2024/1 version 2.0 — documenting the competency framework for staff working in decontamination. This document is to be read in conjunction with the Health Technical Memorandum 01-01 series, and its contents must be implemented in the same way.
The objective of the NETB is to:
1. Outline the knowledge, skills, abilities, and behaviours, required by staff working in decontamination units to ensure the highest standards of decontamination are achieved; and
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