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Posted By tracey christopher
Hi,
I do the H & S for my company we manufactuer and design healthcare equipment for hospitals, nursing and care homes.
We sometimes have products returned for servicing which are contaminated with body fluid(i.e blood).
We have had staff complain about this and now I have been asked to write a policy on it, but I can not find any where regulations about handling contaminated products or body fluid.
Can anyone help me with this
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Posted By Diane Thomason
Send them back and don't service them until they are sent to you clean!
Many suppliers give their customers Decontamination Certificates to fill in when they send equipment for servicing. These typically ask the customer to state what the item has been in contact with, and specify any chemical, biological or radiological contamination. Then the customer states how the item has been cleaned, and signs to declare that it is safe to handle by your service engineers. I used to be a lab manager and had to fill these in all the time. The people who use the equipment are the ones who know what the particular contaminants are and how to clean them off.
You should be able to get advice on decon certificates from other suppliers if your company needs to draw one up.
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Posted By Alan Hoskins Hi Tracey, I'll start this off then, but I don't know very much... The main concerns are probably in relation to Hepatitis 'B' and HIV, I suspect. There's a small reference in COSHH and I believe also, guidance for First Aiders (but not sure where). Tried a Web search? Take a look at some university sites and/or healthcare sites. Here's one to start you off: http://www.lboro.ac.uk/a...tees/ethical/hbfcop.htmlIt might not answer your question, but it highlights some possible issues and procedures. Alan
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Posted By Diane Thomason
Good info Alan, but I still think the responsibility for cleaning lies with the customer.
(actually - sending blood-spattered equipment to be serviced is pretty disgusting is it not! If they couldn't be bothered to clean it before servicing, are we confident they can be bothered to clean it properly before using it on/in another patient?? I think we should tell Matron.)
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Posted By Sally
I would agree with Diane. Particulary if this is equipment being returned for service the onus is on the user to ensure that it is safe for your staff to handle. Provision of Decontamination certificates quite usual for this type of equipment.
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Posted By Frank Hallett
Hi Tracey
The contamination that you mention is clearly identified under CoSHH.
It would appear that the client[s] has a CoSHH problem and is trying to pass it to you.
Unless the contract says different, you should nicely but very firmly tell the client that they are in breach of CoSHH by failing to ensure that the items are suitably decontaminated before the items leave their control.
If the contract doesn't address that topic - it should.
If the contract says that you will recieve contaminated items - it's your problem to decontaminate properly before allowing anyone to come into contact with it.
Whose is the means of transport - yours or the client? It applies though the whole chain.
Frank Hallett
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