HOSPITAL IS FIRST TO USE NEW DECONTAMINATION SUPERCENTRE
Dept of Health’s National Decontamination Project gets underway in Yorkshire
A West Yorkshire independent hospital is at the forefront of decontamination, being the first in the region to use B.Braun Sterilog’s new £10m decontamination ‘supercentre’ in Pudsey.
Yorkshire Eye Hospital at Apperley Bridge has already started using the state-of-the- art 52,000 ft2 'super centre' facility ahead of the Government’s March deadline. The Centre, on the Grangefield Industrial Estate, is the first of its kind in England and Wales and is providing decontamination services for Yorkshire Eye Hospital’s complete range of surgical instruments.
West Yorkshire is one of the many regions in England where decontamination ‘supercentres’ are being built as part of a National Decontamination Project as directed by the Department of Health. In one of the largest upheavals in healthcare decontamination to date, the project will set-up a central but off-site decontamination unit for each region and bring the UK in line with European Standards of sterile services.
The scheme follows growing government concerns that infections including variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (vCJD) could be passed on to patients via surgical instruments.
Prior to using the new supercentre, Yorkshire Eye Hospital, like the region’s NHS Trusts, handled their own decontamination in-house. Commenting on the early take up of the decontamination service, Ian Johnston, Chairman of Yorkshire Eye Hospital said: “It’s fantastic that we are the first in the region to work with B.Braun and use their cutting edge facility in Pudsey.”
“It is vital that the most effective measures are taken against diseases like vCJD and such infections as MRSA and implementing uniform procedures for all hospitals represents an important step forward. Using this facility for decontamination for all of our surgical equipment is working extremely well so far.”
David Thorpe, Chief Executive of B.Braun Sterilog said: “We are delighted to have won the multimillion-pound Government contract for the provision of decontamination services for surgical equipment in the West Yorkshire area. We have made substantial capital investments to bring this venture to fruition and provide the very latest technology in terms of equipment and instrument traceability systems. This contract represents a major and exciting development in the provision of decontamination in the UK and I’m pleased to report that the work so far we have completed for Yorkshire Eye Hospital has worked extremely well. We look forward to successfully serving the West Yorkshire area.”
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PICTURE CAPTION: Ian Johnston, Chairman of Yorkshire Eye Hospital (RIGHT) discusses decontamination issues with David Thorpe, Chief Executive of B.Braun Sterilog (LEFT)
For further information please contact Sue Flynn on 0113 2036030 or 07919 007613. Email sue@caboodlepr.co.uk
