Members of the London Branch of IHEEM recently were given a presentation by Andrew Tweedie on cleanroom environments.
The talk covered general design of cleanrooms as found in the hospital environment and ranging from pharmacy aseptic suites, cytotoxic dispensing suites, operating theatres and sterile service departments (SSDs).
The range of test methods employed in determining that these controlled environments are fit for purpose was highlighted.
Closely examined was the latest guidance on decontamination within sterile service departments, as detailed in Health Building Note 13, published in August 2004.
The presentation highlighted some of the deficiencies of this latest guidance with regard to design, operation and testing of the cleanroom (or IAP room as specified in the HBN). These concerns were applicable to small sterile service cleanrooms as well as to the latest “supercentre” cleanrooms.
A number of pictures were presented to indicate the range of common problems found in SSDs. The examples demonstrated poor quality of building work on upgrades and a lack of appropriate maintenance and staff training.
Results from a 2004 review of environmental monitoring across a significant number of sterile service cleanrooms in the UK was also presented. This raised concerns over infection control as inadequate cleaning of cleanroom workstation surfaces and floors was clearly demonstrated.
