Sterile Services Department - Decontamination Technician

Job overview

Based at St Richards Sterile Services Department (occasional relocation to Worthing Hospital site required)

Monday - Friday 10am - 6pm (weekend & Bank holiday working is required as part of this role)

To participate in the provision of a specialised decontamination of medical devices service contributing to the clinical care of the patient.  To perform a full range of decontamination duties.

Manages Decontamination records in own area of work. Provide a high quality and timely service to all customers. To ensure Departmental Standard Operating Procedures are adhered to by all Healthcare Science staff in accordance with Quality Management Systems.

Plan your own workload and work with minimal supervision.

The role is manually physical and involves exposure to blood and bodily fluids.

Support the provision of an effective medical device service to all theatres, departments and wards on the SRH site, and the issue of supplementary instruments/packs to specialist users based in the community/district.

Main duties of the job

The Sterile Services Department is responsible for the provision of an instrument tray to all theatres, departments and wards on the St. Richards, Worthing and Southlands sites and supplementary instruments/packs to specialist users based in the community/district, for use in direct patient care. This service is compliant with ISO 13485 – Quality System, UK Medical Device Directive 2002, Health Service Circular 2000 (032) – Instrument Tracking, and the Health and Social Care Act.

There is a total of over 60 WTE staff, a multidisciplinary group, consisting of the General Manager – Decontamination Services, SSD Operational Manager, Senior Decontamination Supervisor, Decontamination Technician Supervisors, Decontamination Technicians, Administration personnel within the departments. The departments have an overall budget of £2,000,000, and assets in the treatment of patients.

The sterile services department provides comprehensive decontamination services to 28 theatres, numerous wards and external Health Centre services in the local area.

• **For more information, please see the attached Job Description**

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

The Sterile Services Department is responsible for the provision of an instrument tray to all theatres, departments and wards on the St. Richards, Worthing and Southlands sites and supplementary instruments/packs to specialist users based in the community/district, for use in direct patient care. This service is compliant with ISO 13485 – Quality System, UK Medical Device Directive 2002, Health Service Circular 2000 (032) – Instrument Tracking, and the Health and Social Care Act.

Main Duties and Responsibilities

Communication

• To communicate all relevant information within the team to ensure the continual and efficient running of the service
• To communicate and liaise between decontamination personnel, customers and other members of healthcare staff in a polite and helpful manner.
• To attend  and actively participate in the Department’s meetings
• To work as part of a team and liaise with the multidisciplinary team in a professional manner at all times

Risk Management

• Promote a risk management culture within your working environment and ensuring participation and involvement of all staff, in line with the Trust’s risk management strategy and policies.
• Identify potential risks that may impact on the Trusts ability and communicate these effectively.
• Health & safety is the responsibility of all staff and the postholder is required to take due care at work, report any accidents or untoward occurrences and comply with the Trust Health & Safety policy.

Service Delivery and Improvement

• To test all plant, including washer disinfectors, ultrasonics and autoclaves to ensure compliance with all current standards.
• Undertake daily tests on the department’s equipment to ensure compliance with UK Legislation.
• To operate complex disinfection/sterilization decontamination machinery/systems.
• Provide a comprehensive decontamination service to theatres, wards departments and the community.
• Meet the demands of the department’s workload whilst consistently achieving high quality standards.

Patient Care Delivery

• The Trust has a statutory duty to ensure that patients, clients and members of the public are consulted and involved in decisions about local health service developments. You should be mindful of this and do what you can, as appropriate to your role and level of responsibility, to meet this duty.
• To participate in the Bank holiday and on-call rota.
• Provide a comprehensive decontamination service to theatres, wards departments and the community.
• Meet the demands of the department’s workload whilst consistently achieving high quality standards.

Learning and Development

• Attend mandatory training updates as required.
• Undertake training as necessary in line with the development of the post and as agreed with the line manager as part of the personal development process.
• Achieve and demonstrate agreed standards of personal and professional development within agreed timescales.
• Identify own learning needs and jointly plan training requirements with your line manager.
• Participate in the Trust’s appraisal process to discuss how your role will help deliver the best possible care to our patients and help to deliver any changes in service.
• Ensure that self and staff participate in the relevant mandatory training.
• Undertake the technical certificate

Please see job description & person specs full details